


Life and Death

by Crystallinee



Series: Living Is Your Latest Fashion [2]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, Suicide Squad (2016)
Genre: Angst, Baby, Clown baby!, F/M, Family, Hurt/Comfort, Implied Sexual Content, Jarley - Freeform, Mental Health Issues, Pregnancy, clown princess
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-23
Updated: 2018-03-27
Packaged: 2018-08-16 20:48:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 12
Words: 38,084
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8117071
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Crystallinee/pseuds/Crystallinee
Summary: "Hush little baby, don't say a word. Momma's gonna kill for you the whole damn world."After the events of Suicide Squad, the princess of the crime empire is born. Raising their daughter to become the future ruler of Gotham and surviving the criminal world proves to be a killer game, and members of the squad find themselves involved. Harley Quinn x Joker.





	1. Live For Me

**Author's Note:**

> Before you read this story, I strongly suggest you read my other story "Go Home". It gives the full backstory. This is a stand-alone sequel that takes it in a different direction.
> 
> This is based on Harley's and Joker's relationship as portrayed in Suicide Squad. Based on Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn and Jared Leto's Joker.

Chapter 1: Prologue

                           

* * *

 

_The Joker was there in the dark room, next to her on the bed. He watched as she brought the pill past her chapped lips, it melted on her tongue._

_"Do you feel it?" he asked. "I can hear them, emerging…"_

_He suddenly grinned, a hint of anticipation flashing in his eyes. Harley reached up and touched his face, he was real. She tiredly smiled back at him, and his lips stretched wider, teeth glinting in the dusk._

_"You'll see, Harls. I can't wait for you to wake up again."_

_She couldn't tear her gaze off his face, hardly comprehending how much she had missed it during her time spent in deep slumber. "Really?"  
_

_"Yes," he purred, leaning down and pressing his lips roughly to hers._

_The pill he had given her was effective; she was once again slipping into heavy darkness, but she still heard his voice, darkly laced with amusement.  
_

_"Your little friends say such interesting things when you're asleep. I wish you could hear them, too."_

_"What?" she slurred, wondering what her voices said. Her vision was fading, she fell back into warm unconsciousness, but he was close to her, whispering in her ear.  
_

_"Baby's back."_

_x  
_

_She woke up by daylight filtering into the room. She had no idea how long she had been out and Mr. J was nowhere to be seen. Harley looked around, hazily, her entire body stiff from being immobile for so long._

_In the bed, among the messy sheets, were some strange garments. Had he left clothes for her? She slowly sat up._

_The Joker had kept a great deal of things that he had collected in her absence while she was locked up in Belle Reve. She had noticed the large amounts of photos and newspaper articles of her that he kept lying around. It was one of the things she found most flattering; she loved his serial killer obsession. Harley smiled to herself._

_Beside her on the pillow, someone had placed a pair of baby onesies, one purple and one black. Harley took one of the suits and held it up. It would fit a small infant._

_The realization that had been kept from her by her own treacherous mind came over her._

_Tears filled her eyes and overflowed, as her smile grew wider.  
_

* * *

 Every time the voices started making noise, he gave her the pills like before. He always had them ready, wherever they went.

Since Baby's voice in her head disappeared, the other ones with Harleen in the front line had been trying to fill that space. They never had a chance to get to her anymore, he held them back. That was the reason he had kept her in the safe house recently, so he wouldn't have to drag her unconscious body back later when the pills kicked in.

There was no point in trying to resist; her body was aching for the relief and his hands were unrelenting. His jaw set firmly when she objected; if she put up a fight he would push her down, slipping them in her mouth. And just like that she was in the nothingness again. She knew she must go deeper, reach the final step of freedom, break her mind and turn it inside out all over again. 

Harley floated freely and danced in the sky, her body in drug-induced comatose, the voices drowned one by one. She knew that sometimes he sat with her and listened to everything her mind babbled about.

He got more and more acquainted with her demons just for fun. And when she woke up, everything was hazy, but she was in control again. He loved to see her wake up, they never knew which version of her would appear. She would be new, exciting again, for him alone. 

Joker was stronger than her demons; he had always been. He was crueler than they could ever be, and he trapped them. He listened to them and dove into her deepest depths when she was wide open. Harley liked it, knowing it was another way for them to bond even if she wasn't there to see it. 

She was always one step behind; her subconscious had caught up on the change long before her body even reacted. Before her brain and hormones had a chance to catch on, the voices had told him.

Of course, he always had a plan. She always followed along with whatever he came up with; heist or escape plan, she didn't have a clue, and she never worried about a thing. There was no need to plan or analyze, because life was fleeting and Mr. J was with her.

.

Harley woke up, sluggish, after another two days of being in the nothingness. She ached to get out on the streets again, to wreak havoc and play their wild games.

It felt a bit strange: two times she had woken up after a long time, and he already knew. How many times had it been? She grazed her skin, remembering clearly the first time on the med table in the bombed medical wing of Arkham, the countless times after that. A proof of her connection with Mr. J. He had left traces inside of her every time. 

She moved, impatient to get dressed up and shower, when she saw him. He was in the room with her; he rarely left her alone.

Standing with his back against her in the far end of the bedroom, his silhouette was refined in the light from the large windows. Her gaze followed the curve of his back, the shirt that clung tightly to it, the fabric straining over his muscles. The familiar sound of him sharpening knives and arranging them filled the room.

Harley moved her messy hair out of her face, still completely cut off from all sense of reality and context – she had no memory where she had been before the last pills, floating in and out of a dream.

Still, one clear memory lingered – the small infant clothes he had placed by her bedside a few weeks earlier. It had twisted and touched her – did it meant he wanted it? Did he? As usual, he rarely communicated through words, but through the strangest actions. It kept her on the edge trying to figure him out.

Her hands moved down to the skin below her naval, following the twirls of the 'Lucky You' tattoo. Her abdomen seemed slightly rounded. She giggled to herself, a sense of pride swelling in her chest. _I'm pregnant with Mistah J's baby._

He turned around when he heard her. He looked more maniacal than usual, darker shadows underneath his eyes. There was a glimpse of something in his eyes that she recognized: he was restless, he needed a new game.

Poor Puddin', waiting for her every day and night.  She wanted to follow him out tonight, play their favorite game, make him laugh again. She missed the bloodshed and the screams, the gleam of true glee in his eyes.

Joker approached her, his favorite knife in his hand, freshly sharpened. She reached up to kiss him, but the look on his face made her wait with the smooching. He stood beside the bed where she sat with crossed legs.

She knew she must be looking terrible;  messy hair around her face and the same clothes she had worn for days on end. She wanted to get up and change, but again, he looked like he wasn't going to let her leave the room.

The madness in his eyes made them so much clearer, an utterly aware tint in them. He was actively thinking, calculating, she knew, driving himself to the edge with his thoughts. His free hand reached out to cup her chin. She leaned into his touch.

"It's much harder to live than to die," he said matter-of-factly, reminding her of his strange seriousness during their chemical reunion. His eyes were dead serious, trapping her in his gaze. 

"Death is just a play, the final act." He flashed his trademark grin, caressing his knife, and she giggled. She remembered all the faces and throats he had cut up with it, how it looked dyed in crimson. How swift it was in his grip, how he skilled he was, cutting through limbs like butter.

Harley smiled proudly. For a moment he seemed like his usual self, a wordless connection between them. Then his voice raised, finding another pitch.

"Death is… easy. Life is a game, Harley. A fun, deadly game."

His gaze was once again unpredictable, the air around him shifting. She felt herself perking up in reaction, loving the tension.

His eyes traveled down her body, to her abdomen. He tightened his grip on the handle of the knife and let his thumb run over the smooth, purple surface with a golden-plated J engraved.

Harley felt a sudden surge of discomfort through her body. An instinctive feeling of something she couldn't define that made her want to pull back or put her hands in front of her stomach. She looked up at his face again.

"You said you would live for me," the Joker drawled, voice turning darker. "You made an oath for life and death. There is simply…" One of his white, bony hands suddenly placed on her belly. "… No return."

"I'm always yours, Puddin'." Harley leaned in again, smiling widely. "Ride or die. You know I love a good game."

For once, this reassurance didn't seem to ease his mind. His eyes were hard and set on her, a familiar calculating look on his face.

Harley's breath hitched slightly. Her hands instinctively moved down, underneath his. "Puddin'?"

He breathed deeply and closed his eyes. She always had been completely fearless in his presence. Now, she feared for something else, something that had slipped away too many times.

His eyes snapped open and she was suddenly terrified that he'd stab the blade through her abdomen.

Harley didn't pull back. He was the only one who mattered. 

 "Are you ready to play that game?" He gave her a wry smile, moving his hand from her belly to the knife. He toyed with the razor-sharp edge, teeth glimmering in the dusk. "Of life? Or would you prefer death, my dear?"

His fingers danced across the blade. He leaned in very close, eyes set on her as he spoke slowly. "Do you want this?"

He was asking her to choose... for the little one. Harley stared up at him, suddenly catching on. For the first time since she had jumped for him, he was giving her a choice. 

"I want it, Puddin'," Harley eagerly said. "I want us to have it!" Had he ever denied her something she'd asked for?

His face was only inches away from her. One of his hands placed on her lower back, the knife hovering somewhere above her. She stared into his eyes, fearless and joyful.

"Who do you live for?"

"You, only you," and she broke through the analyzing expression in his eyes. 

He must have seen the complete, undying devotion in her voice and eyes because his breathing slowed down.

"I have bound myself to you forever," she reminded him with a smile. "My dying corpse will follow you around, Puddin'."

He slowly pushed her down onto the bed and sat in front of her. She beamed at him, but he frowned in familiar concentration. His knife sliced her shirt up, just barely grazing her light skin.

It was the expression of ultimate trust – she smiled and ran her fingers through his hair as the blade of his knife traveled over her heart, down in a straight line without drawing blood, down to her groin.

She winced in excitement, feeling the cold metal, squirming a little at the sensation. "Puddin'..."

"Later, Harls. No more pills," he muttered as his other fingers explored her chest, dipping down to her naval. They came to rest obsessively on her skin.

Butterflies filled her and she wrapped her arms tighter around his neck.

Her oath was complete. A part of him inside of her, something new that would belong to the both of them. A connection soaked in blood.

"Our own little monster," Harley cooed. She grinned at him. "Ain't we gonna have so much fun?"

Suddenly he started laughing, and she knew that laugh. High pitched, maniacal, his head thrown back – it was amusement, even glee.

Harley laughed with him, and their shrill voices bounced off the walls.


	2. Keep Breathing

* * *

The funny thing with life is that it's a game. A wild, unpredictable game. We're just laughing and nothing matters.

Harley was stretched out on the cold medical table in the basement, a smile on her lips. A common fantasy of theirs was to fuck down in a cellar turned into a morgue, complete with surgical instruments, blood on the floor and bodies in the freezer. Her man did have an… _animalistic_ serial killer streak in him, buried beneath his smooth and clean façade. Who could have guessed?

Any other day they would have done just that, in their combined interrogation and torture chamber, alone in the dark, only a surgical lamp to keep them company. The best part with this room was not the dismembered body parts they kept in the freezer, but the way they would engage in the most delicious games. The cold drip on the floor in time with the sounds they made. She loved to be underneath the sharp light with his surgical knife and tattoo gun. The gleam in his eyes as he would work her so good, before they both gave into their growing desire and ended up fucking into the floor.

She was his masterpiece, the only one to walk out of his cellar alive, and return when she pleased. Which had been a lot recently, since he hadn't let her out of the penthouse for a while.

Today was not their usual routine, it hadn't been for months. She was almost completely stripped, only wearing a blood stained shirt that used to belong to Mr. J. It was ruined when he lost himself in their game with one of their test subjects the other day. Normally he never got a single drip of blood on his clothes – but well, she had distracted him.

Joker picked up his sharpest knife. The scared, elderly woman they had dragged down with them fussed with towels, medication and the antiseptic liquid. She still hadn't looked inside the freezer. Their other help was waiting outside, tied up.

Harley knew Mr. J was flawless with the knife. His grip, his precision, he could cut the finest lines and swirls, thin as thread into her skin. She wanted to beg him to do it to her now; she had missed the delicious, stinging foreplay. But his face was the one of concentration and she dared not interrupt him.

The elderly woman soaked Harley's skin with antiseptic, rubbing her skin with a cloth. She mumbled something, asking if she would like some morphine. They had an enormous supply ready, but Harley found it ridiculous. There was no way she was going to be dizzy through this.

She looked at the Joker, their eyes met, and he put the sterilized knife to her belly.

Then he smiled.

She grinned back, feeling the familiar surge of excitement run through her. She loved it, the look in his eyes when he worked his blade on her. It always got both of them so worked up, they could hardly stand it.

The pain came from within, drowning out the heat. "Do it Puddin'," Harley breathed through her teeth. Her back arched off the table, she tempted him terribly. "Come on!"

She breathed harshly as he started. Right above her 'Lucky You' tattoo, a horizontal cut through all the layers of skin. One, two, three, four, five… Her eyes remained wide open the whole time. The pain twisted and turned in the bottom of her, barely giving her a moment to breathe. His knife was like a caress, his dark eyes keeping her grounded.

She gasped, her spine curved so beautifully, and then she fell down again with a thud. Laying there, a blissful smile on her face with her head lolled back, she was a masterpiece. The Joker reminded himself again of how many ways he could turn her into art. He liked her best like this, but not dead, no, no, no, not ever dead.

He pressed his fingers to her throat harshly, feeling her pulse, beating steadily beneath his fingertips.

The small nurse-woman had been pressing down onto Harley's stomach the whole time, rubbing and massaging. She made an inquiring sound, reaching out her arms. Joker's eyes snapped down and his red hands lifted out the thing that had been inside Harley's womb. Thick, crimson liquid welled out over her stomach and his arms.

He heard her laugh suddenly, and left the thing in the nurse's arms. Joker's eyes focused on Harley again.

No one screamed. How boring.

Maybe it was supposed to, because Harley seemed to listen for it. Maybe she was hearing things inside of her brain again.

But for once, Harley didn't scream, and neither did the bloody thing.

* * *

 

What was life without death? What was the meaning of death without life first? A joke without a punch line. The Joker hated bad jokes. Hahahahahaha.

And this, this was going be his greatest joke of all, something to bring down upon the world. Death, like chaos and destruction, was unavoidable, and he took great joy in it. Life was a joke that he had allowed to exist.

But this new joke was not moving or breathing, and that was just no fun at all.

Stronger laughter spilled from Harley, an endless symphony of sounds leaving her lips. Choked, twisted, the sounds ripped from her throat.

Hahahahaha.

Their forced nurse didn't say a word. She lifted away the small thing, a package wrapped in white sheets, completely covered. It still didn't move after her repeated rubbing, eyes already closed. He wondered if it could still bleed. He turned to watch her place it out of sight from Harley. Neat, like a mail package. He briefly wondered where it'd go. Into their freezer?

And so, the thing was gone. Gone. Harley suddenly stopped laughing, as if someone had cut her air supply off. She stared up at the ceiling like a dead porcelain corpse. Like the woman they had kept in the freezer for a while, only Harley was alive and he would **_not. allow. her._** to ever stop breathing.

Joker moved closer to her, growling, the back of his bloody hand colliding with her cheek. She was growing colder, as if she was bleeding out. If she dared to do anything now – if she left him – even for this moment – he'd set hell loose upon her. She had dragged them both here, and he'd be damned if she took the quick way out of this.

All thoughts of the thing was gone from his mind, because she was not responsive at all. Joker leaned over, not knowing what do except acting on an instinct buried very deep within him. His lips found hers and he breathed into her, forcing her to open her eyes. He didn't know what she saw in his facial expression, but one of her hands weakly touched his face.

Almost comforting.

He realized she was still open, and his hands quickly moved down, starting pull out the rest of the flesh in her that he needed to get rid of. She had read a book for him on how to do it, repeating all the steps until he was sick of it, all the while giggling excitedly.

She would been as good as new, he mused, his hands still buried in her. His hands touched a fleshy, warm form, the head. Without even looking he pulled it up through the skin. It rested in his hands, a small, moving body. He gave it to the nurse-woman with an annoyed snap of his neck and cut the umbilical cord with a swift stroke of his knife.

Harley stared at nothing. "Baby, baby, baby baby," she chanted, her giggles never far away, "Where are you?" she slurred, eyes rolling back into her head. Joker grit his teeth, his hand slapping her awake. She was grasping for something, grasping for him.

He snapped his fingers at the nurse, knife in hand, baring his teeth. The gagged surgeon was pushed through the door by one of his henchmen who quickly retreated. Joker watched as the terrified man started sewing his Harley back together. Careful stitches, better than Joker could.

The nurse walked over to her with the new package in her arms, the thing that still had moved. Harley's body suddenly jerked up as if she had received an electric shock – another favorite pastime of theirs – and she screamed. She didn't even seem to notice the needle that was harshly jabbed through her skin. Her eyes sparkled in the sharp light, her dry lips stretching into her widest grin. Joker growled, wanting her to look at him only, and that she did, in the next moment. She beamed with sweet, childish joy.

The small thing was wrapped in a blood-stained towel. It gasped for breath, gurgling for a moment. Then it screamed and he couldn't decide if it was annoying or funny.

More funny that frustrating. Hahaha.

Scream, scream all you want, no one is going to hear you… that was what he usually told their playthings.

_Eeny, meeny, miny, moe_

_Catch a baby by the toe_

_If it breathes, don't let it go_

_Eeny, meeny, miny, moe._

He wanted it to scream, to move, to not be an impostor like the other. He hated it when his jokes didn't turn out as planned.

Harley snatched the bundle from the woman's arms, her wide eyes filling with tears. The surgeon had just finished, and Joker pushed him to the floor. She sat up, the color returning to her cheeks. She looked up at him again, the bloody thing in her arms, and he had never seen her so glowing. A hint of his true Harley. Fierce and covered in blood, a triumphant smile on her face.

And then he had to look, too, at that thing his Harley was so attached to, the thing he sometimes had itched to kill before it ran out of his control.

"Look, Puddin'," she gasped, presenting it to him. He only saw a reddish face, small hands and thick eyelids. It was a mess, covered in red and white stains. Dark eyes stared up at them and it took him a moment to realize.

It looked like it was smiling.

There, in their own personalized torture chamber of choice, it took its first breaths and it wasn't even scared. Surrounded by knives, blood and death. It was comical, and he suddenly felt himself grin. Maybe there was a punch line to this joke, after all.

Harley smiled from ear to ear. The nurse-woman walked closer, carefully, holding more clean towels and reaching out for the thing. All the requested pills and medical supplies were prepared on the counter.

"P-pardon me…"

Her end was swift; he didn't have time to play today. Joker withdrew his knife from her throat and wiped it off on the sheets.

Harley giggled, but Joker noticed how pale her face was from exhaustion, deep shadows underneath her eyes. "Wouldn't want anyone to spill this little secret, would we?" She winked at him. He was reminded of the surgeon on the floor and reached for his gun, but she shook her head. Instead he picked up the knife again and made it quick.

She cradled the baby in her arms and threw her head back with joy.

He wanted his Harley to keep glowing like this. He wanted to continue their violent games, without her ever slipping away into a place inside of herself again and having to wait on her for days to come back. It was boring, and the Joker hated boring.

But from now on, things would be fun again.

Harley Quinn hummed a tune and rocked the bloody baby. "Welcome to the world, Princess," she sing-sang. "You'll be wreaking havoc on it in no time. One day when you're big and strong, you'll be just like us."


	3. Next to Normal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I'm excited to show you the next part of this story, I have a lot planned for this.

There was one person in this world that Harley Quinn would kill for.

She had done it before, and she would do it again, without a doubt. But in a place within her that she thought only had room for total attachment and love for that _one_ person, something else had grown. Suddenly, her world was shared by two.

The dark city outside was hidden by the reflection of the room in the window, heavy curtains pulled aside. But if one went closer to the large panorama window, they would see the magnificent view of a rainy Gotham from above.

This was a suitable place for royalty, in a penthouse at the very top. So far above the common people, living their ordinary, normal lives. People walking home through the rain, passing the cars and the neon light signs. Harley could have been one of them, moping around on the street down below, caught in her ordinary life, forever dull and forever blind to what living actually felt like.

Sometimes she sat on the bed, watching the night sky clouded by smog and dust, the pure blue that managed to escape the suffocating lid of grey. She liked watching the city, always illuminated by lights, knowing it all belonged to Mr. J. Sometimes she briefly wondered how her life would have turned out if she had been Harleen. She still lived inside of her, in glimpses and passing thoughts. She was the little girl she had been when she was younger, she was her hazy childhood memories, she was the image of normality.

Normality was something to laugh at.

Harley lived a fake substitute of normality, but she didn't want to pretend. She was not a housewife in a suburban, safe little area, with a law-abiding husband who came home every day to dinner. As time had passed, that idea had faded violently, leaving nothing but a bad taste in her mouth.

Harley was born to be like this, a complete wild card in a spinning deck, no safety ties. The housewife she thought she would become now had a gun in one hand and a bat in the other.

She sing-sang to herself as she moved around in the bedroom, her gaze every so often drifting away and getting completely lost in nothingness. The place was littered with blankets and stuffed animals in a mess, a mobile of cars with tutus above the crib. The nursery was connected to their bedroom through a single door, and both the rooms had full view of Gotham. The baby's crib was big and lavishly decorated; diamonds and spades etched into the heavy black metal frame, covered with a lace veil. It suited the future heir of Gotham.

Harley picked the baby up, cooing, then sat down on the plush bed in the bedroom and prepared to feed her.

Jaylie was already so much like her father. She stayed awake all night; only occasionally dozing off in the afternoon. Sometimes she wouldn't stop screaming for hours, sometimes she refused to eat. Sometimes she slept heavily for a whole day and Harley had to wake her up to feed her. Not that Harley had ever had a resemblance to sleeping schedule before, so she didn't mind.

The baby started suckling as Harley cradled her. "You're already hungry, princess? You're gonna grow so big and strong." She absently smoothed out her purple onesie. All the time she spent alone with her daughter made the voices of Baby fade away.

Harley crooned quietly; saw the reflection in the windows, showing her the strange, unfamiliar sight again of _her_ nursing a child. One of her hands supported the baby's head; the other was placed around her bottom, keeping her close. Heartbeat against heartbeat.

"It's raining, it's pouring," she sang, tilting her head back and forth. "The old man is snoring. He went to bed and bumped his head, and didn't wake up the next morning." She grinned.

When Jaylie was finished and released her breast with a wet plop, Harley picked up the baby wipes and cleaned her pink little mouth before fixing her bra in place and pulling her tight top down again. She put the girl against her shoulder and rocked her slightly, just as she had read that she was supposed to do.

She really wouldn't have a clue what to do if it wasn't for that bookstore robbery she conducted in her second trimester. J didn't even bother to look at the books she got – he had threatened to burn them up if he saw them lying around. He made his own rules on how to interact with the baby. Mostly, he wasn't around; he was out supervising his clubs or doing business.

Harley missed him badly, but she knew it wouldn't do for both of them to disappear from Gotham's underworld – he needed to be there to show the lowlifes who owned the city, that the power wasn't slipping an inch from their grip. She knew she was going to join him soon enough. She missed the clubs and the attention, being out at night with J and playing their games.

When Frost suggested getting a babysitter a bullet hit him an inch from his face. Harley absolutely refused to leave the baby in the care of someone else, and J did not push her– something told her that he was not too fond of the idea either. It must be the possessive streak in him, rather than any actual attachment for the baby – mostly, when Jaylie was in the room he would not spare her much attention. Harley had tried to get him to show some interest, but when his facial expression turned annoyed, she knew that she could only let it be for the time being.

"Do you wanna play, Jay?" Harley cooed and lifted the baby off her shoulder. She gave her a big kiss on the cheek, leaving a red lipstick smudge, and then placed her on her lap. She held her upright and rocked her slightly up and down. The girl caught hold of the necklace she wore around her neck, pulling the diamond-shaped pendant into her mouth. Lately her gums had started annoying her, and she put everything she could reach into her mouth and gnawed at it.

Jaylie's eyes were light blue, just like her father's, and the expression in them switched between oblivious wonder and a small frown that vaguely resembled his when something annoyed her little mind, as much as a four-month old baby could manage anyway. Harley loved watching her expressions.

She picked her up and walked around in the bedroom, carrying her on the arm as Jaylie had settled drooling all over her necklace. Both of the rooms looked a mess every time J had been away for a while. Harley often ended up sitting in their bed with Jaylie sleeping on her chest, surrounded by blankets, lazily watching television and demanding the henchmen got food delivered to her.

J's henchmen stayed out of her way and followed her orders when she enforced them with threats or by the help of Frost who was well used to her demands, ranging from ice cream at five in the morning or takeout food at midnight.

She started picking up the packages of baby wipes, pacifiers, clean diapers and the enormous amount of baby clothes that were strewn around the place. The restlessness when J was gone was jarring, reminding her of months just staring into the bars of her cage.

When she had moved most of the baby paraphernalia away – into the nursery, on a pile - she put on the television again. GCN was reporting a big incident in southwest of Gotham, filming a burning building and a swarm of police cars. She felt a wide grin creep onto her face.

"Do you see that, princess?" she told the baby, lifting her soft hand and pointing at the screen gleefully. "That's your daddy's work."

Jaylie made an incoherent sound in reply.

Harley sighed and her smile faltered a bit. It was evident in her entire body, the need to just put on some festive clothes and go out and show Gotham who their queen was. She had missed the looks in the men's faces when she played with them, the admiration, the _reverence_ when she was in the spotlight.

For a moment she entertained the thought of stepping into her Adidas heels and putting on her favorite hot pants and a tight corset, letting Frost drive her to the club, with a baby on her arm. Not that anyone would dare to look down on her for that. She would show them just how deadly she could be, with new hormones flooding her body; she would go straight up into the glass cage. Maybe she could even get J to hold Jaylie for her for a moment.

 _Soon enough_ , she told herself.

 

* * *

 

She was having a slumber party by herself, hanging from the ceiling in a silk drape. Jaylie was placed on a blanket on the bed, gnawing at a plush toy shaped as a bat, when the door opened harshly. The Joker stalked through the room and Harley's heart skipped a beat. She made a somersault in the air and jumped to her feet.

"I've missed you so much, Puddin'," she smiled at him and skipped over. She was only wearing a transparent silk drape, but he didn't even seem to notice. Something was definitely up, and she grimaced. "Batsy again?"

He snarled quietly in return, already looking through his phone for something.

Jaylie made a sound and threw her arm out, and the bat covered in slobber ended up on the floor. Harley picked her up. "Puddin'?"

"Not _now_ , Harls."

Harley put her down in her crib, then leaned against the door. "Won't ya play with me?" she whined.

He looked over at her with his trademark neutral expression, a sideways grin that could mean just about anything, brows raised. "You wanna _play_?"

"Yes," she purred. "Come on, Puddin'."

"Are you _bored_ , Harley?" He approached her, giving her that dead-stare look that would make anyone else tremble in their knees. She moved closer to him. "No, just don't let them forget who you're with. What if some otha' girl is out there, checkin' you out?"

He chuckled at that, smoothing his hair back.

She bit her lip seductively, staring right back at him and emphasizing her words with a stronger tone. "You're out there playin' and I'm here _all_ day… I've been missin' you, Puddin'. Jay misses you. We both miss our Daddy."

He gave her an incredulous grin, but his eyes flashed. "Now, really? _You're_ bored that you're in here?" She sensed that they were going to be fully at it within seconds, and she couldn't wait. His gaze darkened and he took a step closer, lowering his tone dangerously. "Is that it, hmm?"

"If you don't like what I'm saying, maybe you should come over here and _shut me up_ ," Harley challenged, giving him a sly smile, and only a second later her back was pressed against the wall and he had his arms on either side of her head. There was nothing she loved more than pushing people's buttons, and the Joker was the only one who dared to give her full retaliation – her favorite game.

"I could _make_ you shut up, permanently," he growled at her.

"Come on," Harley winked at him, and then reached up to press her lips against his chin. "Ya know that would be boring, what would you do without me?"

Their bodies were pressed flush against each other and he pulled away from her as punishment, and she whined and tried to regain the body contact.

"Just play with me for once, Mistah J, pretty pretty ple –"

He growled and then kissed her hard, effectively silencing her. Her hands were already working with his shirt, sliding underneath the fabric as he threw her onto the bed.  
  


* * *

  
So far, the Joker had just tolerated the baby. He did not show her any particular interest, but Harley trusted him to be alone with her. He wouldn't kill her. That was one thing she was sure about, but he did nothing to further help or harm the existence of the little one.

That night stared like any other. The Joker was out again and Jaylie had finally dozed off after spending all day awake. Harley changed her into her pajamas and tucked her into her crib, the tiredness taking over her after the long day and night.

"You're such a little monster," she cooed proudly. She sang quietly to her, a nonsense lullaby without proper words, a melody that was too ominous to be calming to any other baby, but when she tried to sing a regular lullaby to her Jaylie grew restless.

Harley kissed her plump cheeks and stroked the light hair on the top of her head. The baby's fists clenched up and her eyelids closed. "Sweet dreams, Puddin' Pie!"

She couldn't really see herself as a mother; she just didn't know what she was supposed to do. Her own mother had not given her much in that department, at least not what she could remember - all that was a hazy, fuzzy memory from another lifetime.

Usually Harley would be awake at any time she screamed, and already up and ready to go feed her or change the diaper, but for once Jaylie slept heavily and she decided to go to bed. J wouldn't return until morning.

It felt strange to go to sleep without a baby on her chest or dozing off on the couch, and the dreams that hadn't hit her for such a long time returned.

In her dreams she was rocking two babies in her arms, a girl and a boy, two perfect little beings, then the scenery shifted and she wasn't Harley anymore, she was any normal woman with a normal life and two healthy babies – and Mr. J was a stranger, a stranger in a business suit and brown hair.

She hated it; she wanted to see him just the way he was. In her dreams, she held a perfect little boy, her little J.J, with impossibly green hair that wasn't the result of acid discoloration, clear blue eyes and a red little mouth in a delightful smile. A mischievous glimpse in his eyes, her children were playing together.

J.J. Her other baby.

Harley was awakened by the sound of low cries. She slowly sat up in bed feeling unusually groggy, realizing she was still alone. She took a deep breath to steady herself, the image of a little boy still lingering in her mind.

She heard a slight shuffling sound from Jaylie's room and was immediately alert. She bolted upright, grasped one of the knives they always had lying around somewhere and prepared to rush over and stab the intruder.

The henchmen knew they weren't allowed up there, and if it was Frost she would put him back in line. She couldn't imagine any outside criminal being suicidal enough to wander straight into the Joker's penthouse where his two most prized possessions resided, especially with Harley being constantly awake and armed at all times, but she wasn't about to take any risks.

As she swiftly and quietly slid off the bed with the knife in her hand, she heard a low, familiar voice talking. Joy and relief flooded her, and then she stopped right in her tracks.

Mr. J was talking… to the baby?

She tip-toed to the slightly ajar door, leaning in and listening carefully. The Joker stood with his back against her, she saw his firm, curved back, holding Jaylie in his arms.

She moved to get a look of his face – he wore a deadpan, concentrated expression, as if he was holding a serious speech and expecting the baby to listen.

His voice was low and smooth and sometimes very quick, then lowering to guttural. "… we'll own Gotham. We'll show the bat who _owns_ this place."

Harley couldn't help but giggle. Their princess was going to be raised to be the very best.

The Joker turned his head slightly when he heard her, and Harley silently entered the room and stood behind him.

He rested the baby's head on his open palm. He stared at her, half-expectantly and half-bemused, as if she was a difficult equation he was trying to solve.

Jaylie cried out and he lowered his face to hers, their noses almost touching. "Shhhhh…" he purred darkly. "I'm _thinking_."

At this, she fell silent, and they looked at each other for a moment. Her hands moved up and touched his hair. He pulled back immediately, giving her a chastising look.

Harley could barely contain her overflowing pride and joy, and rested one hand on his arm affectionately. "Isn't she pretty, Puddin'? She's got your eyes," she giggled and smiled brightly at him.

It brought her a rush of excitement, seeing J hold her for no apparent reason. Before, he would occasionally hand her over to Harley after picking her up, but this full out scrutinizing, as if it was the first time he really _looked_ at her, was different. She couldn't imagine that hand, with often bruised knuckles and bloody fingernails, holding their baby.

Jaylie stared right back at him, her eyes mirroring his. Without another word, he handed her over to Harley. She couldn't stop smiling as she placed Jaylie back in her crib.

The Joker twisted his neck, grunting slightly. She knew the insomnia must be getting to him; some nights were worse than others, and she had no idea how long he had stayed awake this time.

"Come on, Puddin'," she said and gently coaxed him out of the room, towards their bed.

He didn't protest as she removed his jacket suit from him, and then he unbuttoned his shirt, removed his holster and threw it away.

He flopped down onto the bed, staring up at the ceiling, arms spread wide. She knew that touching him in those moments was a bet, sometimes he would growl warningly at her if she came too close, sometimes he would pull her close to him and refuse to let her go all night.

Harley was content with whatever she could do for him, if her presence could give him any solace at all, so she sat down on her knees beside him on the bed, awaiting some kind of sign that it was alright to come closer.

Maybe he too missed their games. She had barely left the penthouse at all for four months, and compared to her imprisonment at Belle Reve it was a dream – she had all she could ever ask for, she was _happy_.

She was glad that their child was sleeping now – normally, J would bang his fist into the wall when she disrupted his much delayed sleep, and grunt to Harley to _go get her_ before he decided to silence the kid in other ways. She knew he didn't mean it, that it was just his grumpiness and irritation talking, and after tonight she was sure of one thing.

He wasn't indifferent to Jaylie, no matter how much he had been trying to distance himself. He had built up walls against _everyone_ , and a baby was no exception.

A fresh wave of tenderness filled her and so she reached out, touching his shoulder gently. He rolled over on his side, away from her, and gave a slight purr when she started threading her fingers through his hair. He only allowed her to touch it on special occasions, when he needed the closeness just as much as she did.

It always helped him relax, so Harley moved closer to sit behind him and gently massaged his tense shoulders and neck, before running her fingers through his hair. He purred more steadily now, a sign of approval that always spurred her on, and she continued, as if he was a child that needed reassuring.

She continued until she was sure that his restlessness had been defeated and that he was fast asleep – it had been a couple of weeks since they last had been sleeping together at the same time. Then she carefully lay down beside him, wrapping her arms around him from behind and pressing her face into the crook of his neck.

There were two persons in this world that Harley Quinn would kill for.

She had done it before, and she would do it again.


	4. Baby

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another look at Jaylie's birth.

_There are women, for whom giving birth is a shock... An assault that brings things to the surface, the existence of which she was quite unaware._

\- Vinterbørn (Winter's Child) - Dea Trier Mørch

* * *

 

The first months of the baby's life followed a certain pattern. Sometimes she forgot about _the past_ for weeks, sometimes it was clawing at her chest. Certain things made the images sweep through her brain, like the color returning to black and white negatives.

Harley's earlier life was buried six feet under, submerged in the thickest waters and forgotten. But never erased; things like violent heights and overturned vehicles brought fragments back to life. She guarded herself closely, nothing must ever slip through. Not even newer memories, of an empty onesie, a lifeless bundle.

She remembered the Joker's cold fingers against her cheekbone, stroking the bruise and setting her free with his words: _"There is no past."_

When she was with him, she never thought back. But some nights when he wasn't around, that composure slipped just a tiny bit, enough to bring her down into the endless recess of her mind. She remembered.

***  
**

*****

In the very beginning she had not thought much about what was happening with her. Only an unconscious movement now and then, a coy smile on her lips as her hand traced her belly.

" _It's like a child having a child_ ," Ivy had grumbled when she found out. " _I bet they'll hatch in your womb and devour each other alive, like sharks."_  
  
The thought made Harley daydream, flattered and happy at once at the thought of a matching pair for her and Mr. J. She couldn't stop smiling at the thought. _"You're gonna like 'em, Red!_ My _babies won't be carnivorous",_ she had assured her with a grin. Her plant friend had scoffed in disgust, but Harley had not paid her any mind.

She was out of her cage, the device in her neck was gone and she was free again. She was with her Puddin' and she was still his Harley Quinn. His queen in the spotlight, his partner, his other half. But her body was changing and his wasn't. She had never had any trouble keeping up with him before, but her body betrayed her as the weeks passed by. He stayed the same.

Harley was supposed to be immortal, untouchable, but suddenly that changed and none of them had expected the consequences.

One day they were leaving an unsuccessful business deal in a downtown district. The Joker had been dealing with a mob boss but the meeting didn't go as planned and they left. He intended to send a 'greeting' to the boss in question later; a missile packed neatly in a gift box. He and Harley had taken off in different directions to meet up by the car later; he knew she wanted to play before he sent his own men after the doomed man.

Harley had been skipping through the alley with her mallet in hand, distracting the stupid goons who ran after her like headless chickens, while the Joker took another route. She loved playing tag, watching them look around in blind desperation as she sat perched on a roof top and laughed at them. They were a lot stupider than Mr. J's men, and nowhere that cool. She watched them fumble around, sweating in their tight cheap suits.

"Where the hell did she go?" they screamed down below. "You were supposed to keep track of her!"

Harley grinned and spun some tasteless gum around her finger before stuffing it into her mouth again and spitting it in the direction of the goon below. He looked around in confusion as the wet gum hit his face. She stood up and used a drainpipe to swing herself to the ground.

She landed between two men, catching them off guard. She swung her mallet and beat both of them to the ground, just for fun. Standing with her hips wide apart, she raised her weapon again when two more men came running from behind. Harley turned around as the most muscular man of the group approached her - this gangster lord hired body, not brains.

"Come on, Beefy!" she cheered. "I'm waiting for ya!"

The nausea hit her out of absolutely nowhere, like a punch to her stomach. Her mouth watered, her stomach twisted and she felt a thickness steadily rising in the back of her throat. The force of it was distracting, enough to make her stop in her tracks as she tried to force it back.

She blinked and swallowed thickly, just as gunshots rang out and she automatically crouched. For a few moments she only felt the intense urge to be sick, her mallet colliding with the ground.  
_Ow, let me keep those pancakes._  
  
She could hear steps approaching slowly, shoes grinding against the dirty concrete. Someone roughly grabbed her from behind and locked her arms in a vice grip behind her back.

"Now, now, what's this?"

Harley looked up at the body in front of her as much as she could - someone was forcing her head down. Through a growing cold-sweat, she saw blue dress pants and shiny black shoes. She was restrained by a couple of men, everyone corning her. If her head wasn't spinning with nausea she would already have bashed their brains out.

Stupid sickness. It usually appeared early in the morning and was gone in a hour or two, but it could strike at the most inconvenient times. It was almost funny, how that overwhelming feeling could strip her of all willpower for just a few moments and render her helpless.

"Well, Miss Quinn, how lovely of you to make an appearance tonight," the person in front of her said. Harley took a deep breath, leaned forward and threw up all over his pants.  
  


* * *

  
From her position chained to the floor and ceiling she was almost completely immobile, but that fact didn't keep her from glaring daggers at her captors.

She needed to kill them. It was the only thing left to focus on, an instinct that grew inside of her, an itch she desperately needed to scratch. The men who guarded her in the empty basement didn't pay her much attention. Even if they had been guarding her with aimed shotguns, that was the least of her concerns.

When she came around, her immediate reaction had been something else, vividly painted in a hue she recognized - fear. She tried to feel if there was a warm rush between her legs, but there was no way to know.  
Faded memories from a white bleached place, metal bars and tiled floors had sent her head into a frenzy - was it too late? Memories of dark, fleshy blood burned underneath her eyelids.

The little thing located between her pelvis bones was only so safe. Even if it was small enough to be sheltered by her bones - small like the blueberries she liked to put on her pancakes - any trauma could make her body decide to drop it. Just like that.

Her second thought was Mr. J, and that was equally worrisome. Her Puddin' should always be at the fore-front of her brain and she hated herself for thinking about the _baby_ before him. But she knew that he must have gotten out safely, there was no way they managed to capture him. No one in this city but Batman was competent enough.

Separate, meet up. That was the rule.

The rule she broke when she didn't get to the surface in time all those months ago and the Bat caught her, and today she had broken it again. She hated herself for letting him down. A second wave of nausea filled her, the taste burning in her mouth and she wished that someone could at least have let her wash herself off - honestly, did none of these men have a woman in their life?

She was going to kill them. It played out before her in perfect harmony, how she would sever their heads from their bodies, riddle them with holes until they couldn't be identified with anything else than their teeth – to send a clear message – then she would go for the boss. The thought made her smile widely. She clenched her legs almost instinctively, as if she could protect the baby better that way. The chains were wrapped around her chest, keeping her arms behind her back and her tightly legs together.

One of the guards sent her an uneasy glance when she squirmed. Harley intensified her glare until he flinched and looked away. He was of normal build and didn't look as stupid as those who had chased her back in the alley, nor as beefy as the guys who had restrained her. It had not taken her long to figure out that these men were amateurs, sitting a few feet away from her in an old couch and lazily checking their phones.

"What're we gonna do with her?" the insecure guard asked.

"Boss is pissed," the other man hissed. "She ruined his suit."

Harley grinned. "Get him a clown suit instead. I'm sure we have some extra."

The first guy looked at her. "You should be afraid."

Her smile grew, blood-shed playing on her lips. "Do share! Is your _big boss_ preparing a little cuffs and huffs?"

The other guy nudged him hard. "Shut it, idiot. Don't talk to her. She's fucking insane."

Mr. Insecure looked away.

"Aww, are you afraid of a lady? I'll be nice, I promise." Harley tried to wriggle in her chains, moving her hips and legs subtly from side to side without result.

"Hey," she spoke loudly to get their attention again, "Isn't there anyone here who knows how to treat a lady right? How heartless can you be to tie up an innocent – " she made an exaggerated grimace and feigned a sob, "woman."

"You are just as bad as him," Mr. Insecure spat.

"I'm being cool. I haven't done anything." Harley made an attempt to raise her hands in display of innocence.  
"All these straps are _tied_ very tightly. Actually it's getting hard to breathe. Didn't your oh-so-mighty boss say to take me alive? I'm feeling my air supply cut off, I can't breathe –"

"Shut up!" the other guy roared. He made an irritated gesture towards Mr. Insecure who carefully moved closer.

Harley smiled sweetly at him. "Thank you, I'll remember this." _Pluck his eyes out like candy._

"You're not getting out of here until boss is done with you," he warned her as he moved to slightly loosen one of the straps around her chest that was connected to another chain, going to the ceiling.

"Who is he, anyway? The Yakuza?"

"Gag her," the guard in charge ordered and the Mr. Insecure picked up a thick cloth from his pocket.

Harley grinned at him. "Please?"

He slapped her across her face before wrapping the cloth around her head.

"She is a fucking freak," he commented and walked over to his companion. "No wonder she partners with the Joker."

"Idiot. She's just a whore."

"Then why did boss bring her here, if not for ransom? Do you know how much cash she's worth? Did you hear what the clown did last time she was gone?"

"I said _shut_ it, idiot!" The grumpier guard shot a look at Harley, who watched them with sparkling eyes.  
She tried to inch forward, slowly and carefully. Apparently her guards felt so confident in the imaginary power of their boss, they didn't care about her little wriggling.

 _Mommy will give you a show, don't you worry. We'll be out of here before Puddin' even realizes I'm gone._  
  
Her entire body was aching from being in that position, her back unnaturally arched and her arms stuck behind her back, and the nausea had settled faintly in the back of her throat. The voices were chattering back and forth, breaking her concentration. She would kill a man for a Capri Sun juice box. Well, she'd kill anyway.

She knew none of this would have happened if she had been her usual self, without the sudden exhaustion and nausea, the aching in her body. She couldn't let Puddin' down again.

As her guards her lost interest in her again and stared into their phones, busy answering calls, she carefully started moving back and forth, like she was crawling in extremely shallow water. If she could get loose enough, she could use the wall as leverage and jump onto the guard's back.

A cracking sound came from the ceiling. The paint cracked around the thick loop where the chain was attached, and the men immediately looked up. Harley stayed perfectly still.

"What the -"

Another crack made the debris rain down from the broken paint. The ceiling shook. The guards stood up and immediately ran to the entrance, drawing their guns. Harley moved more quickly, jerking back and forth as the chains burned her skin. A last push - she used all her strength to push herself back against the wall and then propelled forward, just as the metal loop in the ceiling gave in and the chains loosened.

She fell forward heavily, landing on her stomach. It was like someone had squeezed all air out of her, she grasped the floor and ripped the gag off herself. Maybe she just imagined the pain from landing like that, her belly and hips taking the strain.

She saw the guards back into the room, their backs against her, and a heavy object on the floor. Harley detangled her arms from the chains and put her hands on the ground to slowly heave herself up. Before she had time to grasp the weapon, she saw two bullets exiting the men's bodies, blood splattering everywhere.

When she raised her gaze, she saw heavy black boots with gold chains as shoe laces. A red smiling mouth was painted on the front, soaked in red. He must have been stepping through the bodies to get to her.

"Puddin?"

* * *

 

He was not as happy to see her as she had expected. It caught her completely off guard, so she could not do much more than to silently follow as he dragged her out of the warehouse, the screams fading behind them. His grip around her arm was bruising her, not in the good way.

She was confused by his rage, the way he shoved her into his car and then left again. She waited for several minutes, feeling her breathing slow down and the same giddiness taking over. Then he returned, smelling like blood and his face was dark and hostile. He said nothing on the whole ride home and she let him be. The way he aggressively tried to run over the pedestrians without even laughing was warning enough.

When they got back to the penthouse he ignored her. Harley wanted to proclaim her gratitude, but he disappeared into his weapon room without even looking at her.

Eventually she sent Frost to get her pancakes and decided to take a bubble bath while she tried to untangle the situation. She carefully washed the dirt off herself in pink bubbles and tried to push the uneasiness away. She couldn't think of what she did wrong. _Aside from getting caught and held hostage_ , a voice reminded her. _You broke the rule._

There was a distance between them now, she could feel it. An unspoken, wordless distance that had manifested itself in the fact that she had a weakness.

The Joker never showed weakness. By allowing her in, he had already created the greatest disadvantage he could possibly have, and today had been a result of that. Someone had tried to use her against him.

His Harley Quinn was not the same anymore and she had not even been able to defend herself. It was pathetic. She sat in the bath, her lower lip trembling as the thoughts washed over her. She cried pitifully to herself for a while, until the sadness dissolved.

She eventually dried herself off and slipped into her pink pajamas with a big chocolate pudding print in front. She found some candy in a drawer and planlessly munched on it for a while. Then she laid down in their enormous bed, wide awake. He wasn't there and it was painful like nothing else.

She got up again and paced through the rooms until she ended up in front of the torn door leading to his massive weapon storage room. She pushed it open, fully knowing she was entering the wolf's den, but he was her Puddin'.

"Mistah J?"

His face was contorted. "All this just to let you _play_ ," he snarled as he approached her.

She folded her arms in front of her chest with a defiant pout. "I was gonna take care of them!"

In the next moment she was pressed against the wall, his arm across her chest holding her in place. "Harley," he laughed humorlessly, "I'm running out of ways to keep you... _here_." His burning gaze bore into hers and his grip kept her from moving an inch. His hands gripped her wrists mercilessly.

"I'm sorry Puddin', I didn't mean to get caught. I messed up..."

He clenched his jaw tightly. She couldn't stand to see the look in his eyes - something fleeting that he tried to hide with more violence. Something that was more vulnerable than she had ever seen, and the Joker did not _do_ weakness. In the end it didn't matter if he decided to punish her for this; he was still the man she jumped for, the man she would die for and tear out her very soul for.

Harley cupped his face in her hands, ignoring the way he glared at her. Those blue eyes seemed to flash with barely contained wrath but it didn't convince her. He tried to ruffle up his feathers whenever he could.

"Thank you," she said softly and pecked at his lips, before wrapping her arms around his thin body with crushing force. She buried her face against his chest. Normally he never wanted closeness when he was angry, but the fact that he had not shoved her away already told her something.

He didn't reciprocate the embrace, but it didn't matter. He let her cling to him, pressing her nose against the fabric of his silky shirt and just breathing him in. None of them said anything, but she noticed his breathing eventually slowing down and his muscles relaxing slightly. She let herself almost melt into him, letting her presence remind him.

She didn't know how much time passed before her sleepiness took over and she reluctantly let go of him. He turned away from her without a word and returned to his weapons, and she let him be. Harley practically skipped on the way back to the bedroom. She almost scared the living daylight of a henchman that was guarding the main room when she appeared like a pink and fluffy apparition with a dreamy smile on her face.

She curled up underneath the purple blankets in their bed and felt content again. One hand instinctively placed over her stomach, briefly wondering how the little blueberry was doing.

Sometime in the morning hours she awoke to the sound of rustling covers. The Joker got into the bed with his back turned against her, not acknowledging her.

But she understood.

She understood what it reminded him of, what would happen if she lost it.  
The endless months, the darkness.

So she curled up next to him, burying her face against his shoulder and wordlessly soothing him.  
  
  


* * *

  
  
None of them ever spoke of that moment, the moment they handled in their own ways. None of them would ever say it, but things had changed. It couldn't be denied anymore.

Harley insisted on participating in heists and performances in the club like usual, but the Joker didn't separate from her again. He watched every move she took, or sent Frost to guard her. As the months passed by he remained estranged to the baby, as if he just didn't care that something was growing inside of her. But she got glimpses of him sometimes, that made her realize that maybe, he was more aware than she thought.

For Harley, her awareness of "Baby" was limited to an abundance of nicknames and stuffed animals, until the very day when the illusion shattered. Baby had been a voice and a dream in her head, a loud heartbeat that the doctor showed her, nothing else.

The day finally came, her hormones urging her on and leading her on her way to the final destination. Like swimming down a stream, she could only follow. It was a very strange feeling; she found it funny in its inescapability. There was no way to turn back, no way to stop this or even ask for a break – she was left to her body's natural urges, like something higher above was gracing her with power. Lying on the medical table in their basement, she could only wait.

Every contraction that arched her back and left her breathless told her it was time. The pain traveled from her ribs down to her abdomen and her spine gave a loud crack. Her ribs expanded forcefully with every breath as if her very insides were breaking, opening up. It was time for the thing inside of her to hatch.

But Harley never hesitated, and she did not mind pain. She had thrown herself into the stream, into the unknown ahead, with impatience. Fearless and free from worries, she saw Mr. J pick up the sharp knife. She focused on his eyes, knowing he would end it for her. She urged him on with a smile.

Afterwards she rested with Jaylie close to her, the tips of their noses touching. She let her wrap her small, warm hand around her index finger and giggled.

She looked into the baby's eyes, that deep blue, steady gaze. She was still moving in slow, dreamlike movements as if she was halfway there and halfway somewhere else, in the other world where she had been for so many months. Small and clueless. Soft, with a certain newborn scent. Still unfamiliar with this bright world, after her long time floating in darkness.

It was something Harley never thought she could comprehend. A natural instinct – but all of her instincts were twisted and turned. Harleen maybe would have known in a different way, the natural way. Deep inside, she had wished for another kind of life.

Live fast, die young. There was no guarantee for tomorrow, maybe not even the next hour, and Harley had never cared. Whatever happened was a new game. Eat or be eaten. Sink or swim. Everyone for themselves in the end.

That's how the world worked.

She never thought it was possible for her heart to stretch for anyone else than Mr. J.

But this baby.

Mr. J's child. Yet, one half of her heart was darkened. Jay-Jay was gone, before she even got to see him take a single breath. There was a void in her chest, an emptiness, just like in her belly.

This living baby could be gone in the blink of an eye, too. Her life could disappear like a candle blown out by the smallest fan. Maybe that was why J didn't even look at her. The voices agreed.

For the first time she ignored the thoughts and pulled the baby to her chest. Jaylie whimpered, and then gurgled. Her soft, squishy face pressed into Harley's collarbone.

She closed her eyes for a moment, imagining she was holding both of her children. One of them had shimmering green hair on his head and the same pale skin as his sister. Her beautiful, perfect son with J's face and curious eyes. He was gone long before she knew about his existence, and now he faded.

She felt the newborn child's heartbeats against her own, slow like they were underwater.

This weakness felt like strength.

_Hush little baby, don't say a word. Momma's gonna kill for you the whole damn world. And if they don't laugh at our jokes, Momma's gonna stab out their goddamn throats._


	5. Reconnecting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ivy meets the princess, and Joker takes a trip down memory lane.

Joker leaned over the crib, silently growling. "Be. _quiet_."

The baby giggled and kept his grip around his finger.

"It's 'cause she loves you, Puddin!" Harley exclaimed from her place on the bed in the master bedroom, eating take out food among crinkled sheets.

"Now listen." He put his face closer to the obnoxious thing, again wondering why he let Harley keep it, and ignored the cheerful sounds from them both. He cooed lowly in his throat and pulled his hand away from her grip. "The _fun time_ is over for tonight."

She made some incoherent sound, rolling over on her back. He lowered his voice and stared straight at her round little face as he spoke with his most do-as-I-say-for-your-own-good voice. "Daddy is tired."

Harley giggled and the baby responded with a shrill sound. She reached out for his hand again. "Da!"

He pulled back and grimaced warningly at the harlequin. "Make it stop."

Reluctantly she got off the bed and lifted the baby from the crib, cooing. The noises grew worse and he clenched his teeth. White and black was flashing behind his eyelids, the effects of caffeine and alcohol together with twenty four hours awake was wearing off. Harley fruitlessly tried to calm the kid and his patience was wearing thin.

He slipped out of his shirt and threw it carelessly on the floor, stretching out his sore muscles. Testing out his new golden bayonet on some ex business partners took more effort than he thought, and his shoes were _ruined_.

"Dada!"

Harley eyes widened, before a wide smile lit up her face. "Did she just _speak_?" She planted a loud kiss on the baby's head and cooed. "You're such a smart kid, Cupcake! Come on, say Mama!"

"Dadi!"

Joker turned around, staring at the kid in Harley's arms.

"What was that?"

Jaylie squirmed in Harley's grip. She gave her the stuffed black Bat plushie, which the kid then proceeded to stuff into her mouth. "Maybe she don't wanna sleep 'cause she's plotting her future plan for Gotham!"

He felt something close to amusement. "Starting early, just like Daddy, huh?"

Harley nodded enthusiastically, rocking the baby back and forth in her arms. "She's gonna be just like us, Puddin', she wants in on the plan!"

Joker walked over and took the baby from Harley's grip. He stared down at her.

"You're gonna trick that old Bat for me?" He grinned, hoping to scare the child to silence with his teeth. Instead she smiled back at him, like she was _happy_ to see him. How ridiculous, as if seeing him was the highlight of her day. Jaylie sucked on the Bat plushie with a content expression.

"You like that", he purred, a memory washing his irritation away. "You should have seen us when we found that little bird Robin and made him _squeak_. Rumors say he has a new little hatchling, and I'm gonna break his shell, too. But it wouldn't be any fun to kill the mother bird, don't get too eager now… you have to kill them slowly."

He spoke to her for several minutes, getting lost in his bloody fantasies until he suddenly noticed that the baby had fallen asleep in his arms. He frowned and handed her over to Harley. Finally… _silence_.

xxxx

Harley fell asleep quickly that night, and he tried to shut everything out. His mind could finally calm down when the teeth-grinding _noises_ had stopped. Harley had assured him the kid wouldn't get in the way, but that was a promise she couldn't keep.

Of course he had noticed that something was happening with her, already those first months before the kid was born. It was annoying, as if her voices weren't enough, competing for her attention. Harley-darley was definitely pushing it.

Some days of her pregnancy she had been sulking like a five-year-old, prompting him to shut her out of the bedroom and office so he could _think_ , or she clung to him like a sex-starved kitten, even more so than usual. She had complained endlessly when she couldn't fit into her tight shorts anymore, he gifted her with new ones and her belly slowly but surely grew.

Some days he would carry her into bed, after a whole day of her following her violent urges back and forth and almost driving him out of his mind, tempting him to strangle her, then she would finally fall asleep somewhere. He would detatch her hands from him and give her the candy she would desperately crave in the morning.

It was so laughably absurd, but he was the Joker, how could he complain?

Harley used to randomly attack his henchmen without warning- now wasn't _that_ amusing - and then asked him for ice-cream covered in their blood. He was more amused than pissed that this behavior didn't stop after the birth.

He didn't care what was actually happening with her, but of course Harley had to show him, early on.

_She was sitting on their bed one morning when he got back from the club, among empty candy wrappers littered over the covers. She leaned forward for a kiss, and when he granted her the touch her hands wrapped around his. She wanted him to touch. He knew that her body was his alone, but the idea to touch that tense bump had never occurred to him before._

_He laughed at the thought, and then withdrew from her. Blurred memories flashed in his mind, vague and distorted, he couldn't sort them out._

_Harley grabbed his hand and placed it on her belly, delighted giggles spilling out of her mouth. There was a soft pressure against his palm. He jerked back._

_Her loud squeal was annoying, as if she was telling a joke that only she understood. "The baby is moving, Puddin'!"_

_He pulled back as if he had been burned._

_His fingers ached to squish it sometimes, like an annoying insect growing inside of_ his _Harley. If only she had let him, he would have gotten rid of it himself. No need for a trip to the doc's when he was an expert surgeon, thank you very much._

_But then her expression changed. Her eyes were wide and tear-glazed, she was in her head again. With her fingers pressed against her belly, and her mouth open in an almost comedic way, she was caught up._

_Maybe she was talking to that new voice, Baby. It made a deep settled feeling surface angrily in him. A temptation to drug her up again to find out, to hear her speak from the depths of her mind and pry her mind apart, find out who was keeping her hostage inside of her own head. Vague empty memories in his head, those thoughts Harleen had erased, spun around wildly and he couldn't catch them._

_He looked at Harley, saw nothing but pure wonder in her eyes._

_He placed his hand over hers, applying a little pressure, to bring her back to reality. She flinched and looked at him._

_Her smile grew wide and she was back. She threw her arms around him, wordlessly embracing him. He pushed her softly down into the bed, chasing the voices of Baby further away._  


It took even more time before the thing inside of Harley manifested in his mind. She had been trying to catch his attention, buying a lavish crib and endless mountains of baby stuff. Still, the idea of a kid was laughable, something he couldn't place in his world view. What a joke it all was.  


_He was lounging on the large couch in their main room, polishing his favorite gun. He half-listened as Harley read from the medical book she had got from her bookstore robbery – C-section procedure. He noticed how her doctor persona seemed to come out while she cheerfully babbled about how to disinfect wounds and separate layers of skin tissue, how to cut the umbilical cord properly._

_She was glowing; if it wasn't for her bright white hair and colorful makeup he would think Harleen had taken her place again. It was both annoying, like an itch he needed to scratch, but somehow amusing._

_He almost giggled at the thought. Harleen, like a good doctor reading her medical books - with her tight t-shirt over a big belly. Harleen with a cheerful glow and a baby bump. And there she was again, his vicious vixen, childishly excited as she chewed her pink gum and told him where to cut her up._

_He had already prepared his best knife._

_Ha. Ha. Ha._

_He wondered if the thing inside her would resemble him. Or if it would be normal, golden-haired, like her._

_What if it was?_

" _I need a surgeon, Puddin', can ya get me one? With blue and pink clothing?"_

" _Sure," he drawled, stroking his gun._

" _It's only a week left," she giggled. All traces of Harleen were gone as she put the heavy text book aside and leaned forward. Her lipstick had a disgustingly sweet flavor, but she distracted him with a tongue kiss. Her hands slipped over his shoulders and she moved closer._

He was brought out of memory lane by Harley's sleepy voice, as she nuzzled his arm. "Puddin'?"

"Yes, Harls?" he grumbled, one arm encircling her waist and pulling her closer.

"I love ya." Her lips traced his skin and he pulled one leg over hers, pressing her body to his. His mouth traveled across her jawline, a wordless reciprocation. He let sleep overtake him as Harley clung to him, mumbling incoherently about the voices that still lived in her mind.

 

xxxxxx

 

Pamela Isley, nowadays more known as Poison Ivy, had kept in touch with Harley Quinn ever since that time when she saved her from one of Falcone's henchmen at a club, the first time they met. Their contact been sporadic over the years, sometimes they had gone long without speaking, sometimes they saw each other more often, and they had grown close despite it all.

She often heard about her, the crazy jester queen and her partner. How could she not, when they flaunted themselves on every GCN news reportage and front page in the newspapers? Ivy had her own schemes, and although she had given Harley the opportunity to join her, she knew it would never be. Harley was smitten with that clown.

Ivy had her plants and she had her revenge plan for her tropical island that was destroyed, her paradise away from the world. That was the reason she came back to Gotham a few years ago and had to take lousy part-time jobs in order to put her plan in motion. She was going to get the head of the Wayne Corporations back.

When Harley disappeared from the surface of the earth two years ago and consequently disappeared from all news, Ivy thought she would never see her again. The times she had spent hanging out with Harley had left an impression she couldn't erase. Harley was special compared to the other meat bags that polluted Gotham and the rest of the world. Ivy did not mingle with clowns, or any other criminals for that matter – she had her plants and that was enough, but Harley was the exception.

So when she went off the radar, Ivy made some investigations, but had no luck finding her. Harley later came back and told her about Belle Reve and her mission, but only a few months later she disappeared again. No, she wasn't back in the Asylum or the maxium security prison this time. Which meant she either had got herself killed, or that clown had done something to her. The Joker remained active on the crime radar this time around, keeping GCN busy. The first time Harley disappeared, he had as well.

Ivy couldn't help the rage that coursed through her when she thought of that damned clown, and if he had done something to hurt Harley, the only one who she could call a friend, she would add him to her list of revenge targets. She would kill him with a poison especially made for him, she promised herself, even if Harley would never forgive her.

After several months, Harley had suddenly contacted her again. She claimed she couldn't leave the house, and the clown didn't want Ivy coming into their headquarters, _no way_ that Ivy was going to accept that invitation anyway. But hearing from her made Ivy's chest tighten up with something undefinable. Harley was alive. She didn't know why she cared so much, that the crazy girl wasn't in a suicide squad anymore, in a prison, but back with _him_.

xxx

One day the jester queen stood at her door step again, like nothing had happened. As if she hadn't been locked up in a black site prison for a year and after some months out in the open, disappeared again without explanation.

She was all giggles and smiles, dressed up in shorts and a pink hoodie in an obvious but failed attempt to keep a low profile, gun holster visible at her waist. "Hey Red, open the door already!"

Ivy opened the door to her small house, stopping her guarding plant from spitting poison at the intruder. "Harley?"

Something was shoved into Ivy's face. "This is Jaylie," Harley sing-sang and presented the bundle to Ivy.

"What?"

Wrapped like a burrito in her arms, underneath layer after layer of silky blankets, there was a... _baby_. Harley presented it as if it was the first prize in a contest that only she had won.

After the initial shock and bewilderment had coursed through her body, Ivy took a deep breath through clenched teeth. There was a possibility that this was a kidnapped kid. Or some kind of twisted clown joke, how would she know?

"Harley, is it _yours_?"

"Yeah! She's mine and Mistah J's!"

That clown. That wildly grinning lunatic by her side.

He must have done that. _Infected_ her. Ivy felt venom pooling in her mouth.

"Look, isn't she the cutest thing you've ever seen!" Harley gushed, inviting herself into the house. Ivy shut the door firmly behind her, not caring to look at the sleeping baby.

"Harley... where have you been all this time?"

Harley didn't seem to take notice of her serious expression. She sat down on the couch and bounced excitedly up and down, holding the bundle in her arms. "I had to stay home with Jay, I couldn't bring her to the club! Puddin' didn't want me to leave home the last months, and when she was born I had to look after her! Can't trust those stupid henchmen Puddin' hires. Those guys are good with grenades and guns, not with a baby! I'm a Mommy, Red, can you believe?"

Her face beamed with childish glee. "She's eight months old and she's the smartest little girl in town! She already said her first words! I'm so glad I could visit you! Puddin' didn't mind at first, he's out doing his business. It's been so boring without him there!"

Ivy listened to her squealing voice, pouring herself a wine glass of water and taking a seat across from her.

Apparently some things had not changed, no matter how much she had wished for it. Harley never had a clue about anything, except for how ridiculously in love she was with that clown. For her to be able to keep a baby alive for this long it would take a miracle, or Ivy had seriously underrated her ability to nurture rather than nuke.

"You should see Jay whenever Puddin's around, she can't help but smile at him until she gets a response from her Daddy!" Harley leaned forward and for the first time seemed to realize the state of the living room that Ivy had turned into a botanical greenhouse. Ivy's plants covered the walls, taking up a lot of the visible space in one half of the room, and surrounding the windows.

Harley's eyes rested on one plant with thick, red branches. "What've you been up to, Red?"

Ivy decided to let her in on her project, and told her about the island that had been nuked by Wayne Enterprises for a testing purpose, destroying all botanical life on it, and how she was going to get them back for it. Harley joyfully laughed at her plans for Bruce Wayne, and for a while it felt like old times again, just the two of them spending time like nothing else mattered.

They were only bothered when the baby awoke from its sleep a while later.

"Shh, be a good girl for Mommy," Harley cooed. She stood up. "This is why I can't take her out to the fun just yet! We gotta get back, I bet Puddin' misses us already. He won't be happy if his girls are away too long!"

Ivy glanced at the kid. It seemed so absurd for Harley to even hold one – she was brute strength. Ivy would admit, the baby really would be nothing different from the other small meat bags she had seen, if it wasn't for those eyes. Those eyes betrayed exactly who her father was. Cold grey, surrounded by thick eyelashes, they stared at Ivy.

"Isn't she pretty?" Harley giggled. "Yes you are!" she told the baby, cooing, and placed a noisy kiss on its forehead. The baby didn't make a sound.

"Harley..." Ivy looked at her, letting the seriousness on her face show. "How did he let you have a child?"

The excitement seemed to leave Harley, like a deflated balloon. Something flashed across her eyes for a short moment, and Ivy instinctively reached out to touch her arm. A few moments later she seemed to get herself together again. "Because I wanted to."  


xxxx  


Barely a month later, Harley showed up unannounced at her house in the early evening. She had been asking and pleading all day on the phone, for Ivy to look after Jaylie because she was celebrating her anniversary with the clown. Ivy didn't care, and had straight out told her so, but Harley didn't give up. Now she was at Ivy's house, dressed up for going out, with a golden dress and her hairs in curls, sparkling makeup and jewelries that were sure to draw attention. The baby was in her arms again, dressed in a sparkling blue onesie.

"Are you _kidding_ me?" Ivy stared disbelievingly at her.

"I trust you, Red!"

"Harley," she protested angrily, "I don't want anything to do with it. I _don't like_ kids."

"I'll only be gone for tonight!" the harlequin begged. Ivy did feel bad for her, knowing she had been locked up with a baby for the past nine months and before it was even born. She did look a bit paler than usual, due to the lack of sunlight, and Ivy had always found it hard to resist her pleading.

She sighed heavily, finding herself defeated in the face of Harley's expression. "For how long?"

Harley squealed and threw her arms around Ivy, hugging her hard while still balancing the baby on her other arm. Ivy felt her sugary sweet perfume surround her in a lovely cloud and she inhaled deeply, resisting the urge to pull Harley closer.

"Thanks, Red! I'll be back to pick her up after midnight! She's been fed and changed, she won't give you any trouble! Just call me if there's any problem, okay?"

"Sure," Ivy grumbled, already regretting her decision. But Harley beamed, jumping around excitedly. "It's been such a long time since I had a date night with Puddin'! I promise I'll come to see you more often from now on!"

After Harley had gone, leaving a bunch of toys and blankets, Ivy left the kid sitting in the living room.

She was lovingly tending to her biggest carnivorous plant, not even looking at the baby, when she heard her giggle.

Raising her eyebrows, Ivy shook her head. "You shouldn't be laughing, with those parents of yours. You have a whole lot of issues coming up, kid."

The baby put a clenched fist in her mouth and suckled at it. Then she laughed again, with a clear, brittle voice.

"What's so funny?"

Jaylie didn't react to her voice or words like a normal baby probably would. Ivy wasn't that familiar with them but this flat-out ignoring was definitely strange. _Honestly, what are the odds that she is normal?_

It suddenly hit her that the kid seemed to be conversing with herself, hence the little giggle fits. She made no attempt to seek out Ivy's company or make eye contact, instead holding onto a plastic toy car that Harley had brought for her to play with. She stared intently at the toy, seemingly transfixed with it. She pulled clumsily on the hem of the tutu that someone – probably Harley – had put on the miniature car. She acted like Ivy wasn't even in the room.

Ivy decided to leave the kid to her own business for a while. An hour later she saw that she had managed to pull herself into a standing position. Jaylie was supporting her weight and wobbly legs by holding on to a heavy pot that contained Ivy's enormous Venus flytrap, that was closed and content after a recent feeding.

She grabbed hold of the smaller stems of the plant and pulled.

"No, no!" Ivy hissed and rushed over, detaching her hand from the stem. "You've got all of Gotham to terrorize, leave it alone!"

Her light push made the baby lose her balance, and her chubby little body fell back on her bottom. She made no sound at all to voice her complaints, she just stared at Ivy with a visible frown between her eyes. Her little face looked a lot like Harley's, and Ivy felt something clench in her chest again.

She crouched down to the girl's level. "Hey, how about I show you something else to play with?" Ivy inquired softer, hoping the kid wouldn't throw a fit or start crying. She had no idea how to deal with that, she had work to do.

The frown between the baby's eyes deepened.

"Pl-ay! Ewe!" she suddenly said, lowering her head for a second so her bright blonde hair fell into her eyes. Then she looked up and smiled.

An odd feeling rose in Ivy, at seeing the abrupt changes in the kid's mood. After a moment's thought, she rose to her feet and went into her bedroom, that had been turned into a seedbed for her mutant spores and flowers. Out of the seeds she had left, she conjured a flower that she brought back to the living room. She bent down and gave the flower to the kid.

"Here you go."

The baby held the flower in her tiny hands, staring silently. For the duration of the night she remained completely silent, alternating between cradling the flower or examining it. Eventually she fell asleep on the blankets, holding the flower in a tight grip.

xxx

"Where's my little Puddin' Pie?" Harley chirped as she skipped into the room somewhere after midnight and immediately set course on the baby, waking her up from her hard-achieved sleep.

"Mommy's back!" She nuzzled her face with the baby's and a little hand entangled in her hair. She laughed as her daughter pulled on her pink locks. "We gotta hurry, Daddy's waiting for us in the car!" she said as she covered the baby's face with messy kisses. Then she turned to Ivy, embracing her and kissing her cheek. "Thank you a bunch, Red!"

Ivy looked at them both. The clown had bound Harley to him even tighter than before now. But she was smiling ear-to-ear, the same way she did when she lovingly gazed into the madman's face – Ivy shuddered at the thought.

As if the baby made her just as happy as he did.

A ridiculous thought, but she couldn't deny it. The clown's baby made Harley _happy_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To Be Continued. I love to hear your comments and thoughts, they make my day!  
> If anyone wants to read my take on Ivy's and Harley's first meeting, you can find it in my other story Just Like You, chapter 10. You can expect a bit more of Ivy in the future!  
> This story has been a bit of a challenge for me to write due to the very special pacing and constant flashbacks, but from now this story will be more linear. Leave a comment, until next time!


	6. The Outside

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The outside is a vast place, and Jaylie wants to play.

**Chapter 6**

** **

* * *

Jonny Frost tried not to stare at the kid sitting on the floor. Her small fingers were intensely pulling on one of the Joker's thick golden chains that had been left on a chair. Frost doubted his Boss would throw a fit about it, considering the amount of golden jewelry that usually lay around in the penthouse, and Quinn's habit to lose them.

He had eventually been introduced to their kid – after a year where any accidental contact with her had been directly life-threatening. Quinn seemed to have calmed down by now, but he was not sure if that was a good or bad thing.

Things had gone back to their usual routine after Quinn was returned from Belle Reve. The Joker was once again fed, fucked and had some kind of interest in the outside world again. The pregnancy was another matter, but Frost tried to forget all about that.

Boss and Quinn were both out and Frost had been left in the penthouse to babysit. He focused on some business reports while glancing at the kid – Jaylie – he reminded himself, sensing that any accidental slip of that nickname, _kid_ , would cost him more than his suit.

Jaylie had been sitting for the last five minutes trying to dissemble the chain without success, as if she was trying to figure out what it was made of. The hyena plush toy, mountain of shiny car toys, clown dolls and various other things she had were left forgotten, strewn out on the floor beside her.

So far she had been completely silent, but when the object didn't submit to her prying hands, she huffed in frustration. She pulled the metal chain to her mouth and bit down with her four visible teeth.

Frost knelt down, warily, holding out his hand to her. "Hey, give me that."

She ignored him, as if she hadn't even heard his voice.

Frost tried again, offering her well-chewed plastic Batman figurine to her as a bribe. "It's better if you play with this." He knew how to negotiate with mob bosses, not a stingy toddler.

Still no reaction. _Is she deaf?_

Carefully he tried to take the chain from her before she broke her baby teeth that Harley had gushed endlessly about – now wouldn't Boss _love_ if that happened, he thought sarcastically. Then she snapped.

Her small teeth latched onto his skin with surprising force and held for a few seconds. He jerked back and shouted in surprise, seeing angry red marks on the back of his hand.

She stared at him with indifferent, calm blue eyes.

"Mine."

The word was barely a hiss, and spoken by such a small child, it stunned him. Her chubby hand held tight onto the gold chain, and Frost backed off. Jaylie proceeded to pull at the chain as if nothing happened.

After a while she grew bored with the chains, and instead assembled small things, like bullets and lipsticks she had found lying around the penthouse. The idea of _choking hazard_ did not ever occur to her parents, but Frost kept watch on her while also keeping his distance.

Jaylie had been crawling around the penthouse a lot during the last months; examining everything she got her hands on. She had a habit of following her parents around when they were home, sometimes trying to hide from them or sometimes being very obvious with her presence, to their amusement.

At least Quinn kept the loaded and sharp weapons out of reach, trying to keep the kid occupied with her toys instead, but Jaylie got bored of it quickly. Certain things caught her absolute attention, like set of plastic knives the Joker had given her for her first birthday. She could sit intently with them, oblivious to the world around her.

.

About an hour later the sound of manic giggles sounded through the penthouse. Harley entered the main room with an abundance of shopping bags, filled with stolen content; Frost knew she just liked having the fancy bags.

The Joker followed her, seemingly in a good mood. He grabbed onto Harley's waist, spun her around and purred into her ear, while Frost tried to direct his attention elsewhere.

"We're back!" Harley shouted, giggling as she pressed herself to Boss. She dropped all the bags on the floor with a metallic thud and rushed over like a gymnastic sprinter to sweep Jaylie into her arms. "Hey, Jay! Have you been having fun?"

"Mmm." The girl tugged on her hair.

"Good girl!" Harley put her down with a kiss to her nose. She waltzed into the kitchen and started preparing the baby food, whistling a tune out-of-pitch.

Joker caught sight of Frost rubbing his bitten hand. His lips split into a wry grin. "Been in a fight, Jonny-boy?"

Frost's gaze was unintentionally drawn to the girl sitting on the floor.

Joker burst out cackling. "A piraya, she is! That's my little monster!"

He was too busy laughing at his own joke to notice Jaylie grabbing onto the nearby couch, using it as leverage to slowly stand up, and waddling over the living room area. He didn't take notice of her until she bumped into his leg.

"Daddy!"

Joker looked down to see her standing on her own, a bit wobbly, with a big smile on her face.

He grinned back at her and ruffled her blonde pigtails.

Harley poked her head out from the kitchen, eyes wide and mouth open, exclaiming: "Did she just walk?!"

Without waiting for confirmation she merrily clapped her hands. "Mommy's so proud of you, Pumpkin Pie! Did you see that, Puddin? Our baby can walk all on her own now!"

Joker grunted, craning his neck. "Tone it down, Harls. Of course she can."

**x**

**x**

**x**

By the time Jaylie was two years old, her presence had become a routine. She was still kept exclusively on the top floor of the penthouse, kept away from most of the henchmen aside from a few men running errands for the Joker. Frost had warned them not to stare at the kid, but they couldn't keep their eyes away.

Frost was mostly ordered to babysit since Poison Ivy disappeared one day. That was also the first time he saw the honey-moon phase that lasted since Quinn's return, crack in the edges.

"Red's back in Arkham!" Harley whispered one evening, appearing in the living room area. "That's why she ain't been pickin' up my calls for months."

Joker didn't answer, but let the corners of his mouth shape into a scornful grimace. He sat on the couch, flicking through GCN while chewing a small cigar – a token from a murder at the club.

"Did ya hear me? We gotta get her out!" Harley stood in front of him, hands on her hips.

He gave her an annoyed look. "Do I look like some break-out squad on duty?"

"Yes!"

Jaylie, who sat in the couch with her plastic knives, giggled. Joker gave her a wry look before turning to Harley.

"No. That plant can tend to herself."

"Fine, I'll do it myself. Red's my friend! I'll go bust her out -"

Joker slowly stood up, growling, and balled his fist around the front of Harley's crop top. He spat the cigar out.

"If you go get yourself locked up again, Harls, so help me I will…"

He stared into her tear-filled eyes, but the rage of the memory overwhelmed him. He abruptly let go of her, turning away.

"Fine! I'll show ya, Mistah J!"

Harley stormed out of the room and disappeared into their room-sized closet. Five minutes later she had filled a bag with weapons and tools and put on a jacket. She left the house, slamming the door shut behind her.

Joker growled, going back to the couch where Jaylie was staring at him with wide eyes. He ignored her and distracted himself by watching GCN again.

"Jonny!" he called. His right-hand man appeared soon after. Joker picked up his pocket-knife from his pants and flipped it open, spinning it around his pale fingers. "Get someone to track her," he ordered lazily.

"Will do, Boss."

Frost quickly headed towards the door leading down to the stairs, sensing the mood in the room. As he reached out for the door handle, the blade of the knife embedded itself in the door frame next to his head.

.

Left alone, Joker tried to find an outlet for his frustration, considering calling in some henchmen.

He glanced at the kid. Still not afraid of him, her eyes were intently fixated on the knife in the door frame. Her resemblance to Harley always affected him in the worst ways. She should have looked like him: toothless, scarred, discolored hair, not like a little breakable porcelain doll with Harley's locks. It only fueled his anger.

"Daddy?"

He turned his neck to look at her impassively. "Daddy's busy."

He saw her scrunch up her face in a grimace and something flared in him. Joker stalked over to the couch, leaning over her. A deep snarl sounded from his chest. "What's that face, Pumpkin?"

She stared back at him; _oh if not Harley's defiance had rubbed off on her_ – jutting out her chin.

"I wanna go with Momma."

He clenched his teeth. " _Noo_. What's this about giving Daddy attitude, hmm?"

Her gaze deepened into a glare. He knew Harley always gave her everything she wanted, whenever she started rioting, but _he_ wasn't having that.

He grabbed a hold of her chin, glaring back at her. Jaylie made a sharp, shrill sound and her arm lifted her plastic knife and threw it at the television in anger. It only reached halfway, ending up on the floor.

Joker turned to see the failure, an evil grin on his lips. "Is that all you've got?"

"I want knife," she told him with a defiant pout. "A real one."

"You better shape up then," he hissed at her, his tattooed hand covering her mouth to stop any further protests. She had never tried to bite him, and she didn't test her luck.

He ended their out-drawn glare contest when she started squirming uncomfortably. He pulled back and grimaced in turn at her, a clear warning. She lowered her gaze.

.

Later that evening when he came out of his office for some more whiskey, he found that she had managed to pull his pocket-knife out of the door frame by climbing on a chair.

Harley would never stop fussing if the brat cut herself up while on his watch, and moreover, Jonny had just managed to clean the blood out of the carpet from the last time a henchman tested his patience. Joker stalked over and took the knife away from her, pinching her cheek hard enough to leave a red mark.

"Turn that frown upside down, or I will do it for you," he said darkly. Then he walked into his office and shut the door.

When he left the room in the morning, sleep deprived to no one's surprise, he found Jaylie curled up sleeping with her hyena plushie on the couch. He called for Frost and drank some black coffee while he waited.

"You called, Boss?" Frost looked between his messy boss and the kid sleeping in her day clothes.

"Where's Harley?" Joker ground his teeth together. "All because of that _leeching plant_ …"

"We don't know yet. We have no info of her being in Arkham or Louisiana."

He put both his hands on the counter in the kitchen and muttered: "It doesn't matter. Get us something to eat."

Jaylie woke up in a sour mood that didn't lessen after Frost handed her a sippy cup with her favorite grape juice, and mushy baby food on a plate. "I want Mommy."

Frost sighed as he noticed the burn mark in the carpet, made from the cigar thrown there the night before.

"I want Mom _now_!"

He was happy that his Boss was out of earshot, knowing that the reminder would not land well in the current situation. "Look, kid, she's coming back soon."

For the first time Jaylie looked at him when he spoke, instead of simply ignoring his existence. Her face was blank, not in any way showing a response to his words. Frost had by now figured out that her development was different to a regular kid's, but her defiance was still the same. The hyena plush toy was tucked into her arm as always.

After she had eaten, she spent a couple of hours trying to stab her dull plastic knives into the wall, with no success. Harley was gone for another day, and Frost was at least happy that the kid was potty trained.

When Harley returned, empty-handed from a failed mission, Boss seemed to get back to his normal self, and the plant lady was not spoken of again.

**x**

**x**

**x**

"Mommy, what's outside?"

Jaylie had climbed onto the piano in the far end of the living room, gazing out at the rooftops of Gotham. The sun was rising over a foreign place to her, a forest of square rectangles.

Harley stopped in her tracks. "A lot of funny things," she said dreamily. "You'll get out to play when you're older!"

"In the movies, the kids are outside," the three-year-old objected, pressing her palms against the window. To Harley's pride, a faint hint of Brooklyn accent had showed itself in her speech.

She pressed her nose against the glass, trying to see every part of the city far below. Harley lifted her up in her arms. "This is your kingdom, Princess, that your Daddy owns. Now let's go get you dressed."

The toddler was in deep contemplation while Harley put her down in her room and rummaged through her stacks of clothes. She slipped her out of her blue pajamas with the dog print.

"Which dress do you want to wear today, Jay?"

Jaylie seemed uninterested in the task of choosing, instead spacing out, looking at the big print of a wild hyena that covered the short end of the wall.

After helping her put on a blue dress, Harley started brushing her daughter's hair and putting it up in two miniature pigtails on either side of her head. When the task was finished, Jaylie picked up one of the Joker's golden chains he had let her have, and put it around her neck. Harley rewarded her with a big smacking kiss.

Jaylie jumped over to the window. "I wanna go outside."

Harley bit her lip. "You can't do that yet, baby. When you're older, Gotham's gonna be your playground. "

"Why?" She picked up her book of wild animals – the hyenas were her favorites. The pages contained detailed pictures of the animals tearing apart big pieces of flesh, and she had spent many hours looking at it. Harley had noticed that Jaylie seemed able to read certain sentences by herself.

"Are there hyenas outside? Lions and elephants? In the grass?"

Something in Harley's chest clenched. She crouched down to her level. "It's dangerous for you when you're so small, Puddin' Pie. There are bad people outside who would try to take you away… like Batsy."

"Batsy Batsy." Jaylie grimaced and they both started giggling. "Daddy's friend."

Harley choked on her laughter. "You're so smart, Jay! Daddy's arch nemesis. Let's watch a movie, while we wait for Daddy to get back! I'll get Jonny to make us waffles. Go ahead and pick a movie!"

.

As they sat in the living room couch watching _the Lion King_ , Jaylie's attention drifted, waiting for the hyenas to appear. Harley was slipping slightly out and in of concentration, until she felt a touch at her bare thigh.

Jaylie's small hand traced the prison tattoos Harley had done to herself, following the contours of black shapes and shaky letters, small lines etched into the skin. She looked up with curiosity hinting in her eyes. "Paint?"

"Mommy made those when she was away from Daddy," Harley mumbled, putting down her fork on the table in front of the couch.

"Why?"

"Because she missed him, silly!"

"Why were you away? Daddy comes back," Jaylie helpfully pointed out.

Harley tried to not let her mind drift to a darker place. "Because of Batsy-Batsy and the Waller…"

Jaylie's eyes teared up. Harley embraced her tightly, rocking her a little back and forth. "Don't worry Puddin' Pie. Mommy won't let them touch you."

"I want paint too, like you!"

After a moment's thought, Harley jumped out of the couch and ran into the Joker's office. She came back with a black marker pen. "This won't hurt, and it will look the same as Mommy's tattoos!"

A few minutes later Jaylie had a black heart underneath her eye. "Just wait until Daddy sees this!"

.

Jaylie spent the rest of the day keeping track of the door. As far as she knew, it was the portal to the world outside, where Joker and Harley came and went.

Frost paid it no mind, until the Joker came back in the evening and disappeared into his office. One of the most trusted henchmen, who usually went by the name Panda Man, opened the door to the top floor of the penthouse.

"We have a problem with a guy down here. Says he's looking for you."

Frost stared back, rising from where had sat down waiting for the Joker to call him into his office.

"It's urgent. I think he's just looking for Boss' hideout."

"Who?" a dangerously smooth voice interfered. Joker came down the hallway. "Any of our clients?" He smoothed his hair back and cackled. "Dump them in the river, then. And send a greeting to the rest."

"Yes, Boss." Panda Man turned and walked down the stairs. Joker moved over to the door like a snake, picking up the three-year-old to keep her from slipping out before the door closed.

"Ah, ah, ah, what do you think you're doing?" he chided, a snarl hinting in his voice.

Jaylie was completely still in his hold. She pointed firmly at the heavy, bullet-proof door, indicating her wish.

To Frost's surprise, his Boss didn't latch out, but instead put on a show to look exasperated. He craned his neck with a loud pop and lowered his voice to a threat.

"You're not walking out that door again, Pumpkin."

She stared back with a frown between her eyes. "You and Mommy goes. When can I?"

"When you can use a weapon," he snapped. She responded by reaching out for his gun holster that was strapped to his waist.

"No." He put her down on the floor. Instead of the usual tantrum Jonny Frost expected to see when Jaylie was denied something she wanted, he was mildly shocked to see her smiling up at her father.

Truth to be told, her behavior was just as unpredictable as the Joker's, or maybe she had some kind of survival instinct that kept her from pushing his buttons too hard. When Frost had ever tried to stop Jaylie from doing something dangerous, she would almost bite his hands off.

"Yes, Daddy."

Joker saw the ink heart on her cheek and let his fingers brush over it for a moment before he turned away.

* * *


	7. Impression

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jaylie has a lot to prove, to show that she can stay inside the game.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the fastest update I've ever done! Unfortunately I cannot give you a schedule of my posting, since it all depends on my health. All I can say is that this story is my main focus right now.

"I'm singing in the rain, just singing in the rain…" Her voice drifted out over the room, as her hands arranged the bullets in a slightly uneven circle around her.

Frost shifted uneasily, hoping the materiel weren't stolen from the Joker's weapon room. The three-and a half-year old was intently focused on arranging the pieces according to her own pattern.

"I'm happy again…" Considering Jaylie only spoke when she wanted something, her recent singing habit was unexpected. Frost supposed the movies she and Quinn watched were the problem. Further and foremost, he didn't think a kid of that age could have any sense of pitch and even less proper articulation.

Jaylie had collected bullets she had found lying around in the penthouse, and after trying to dissect them with a pair of scissors, she had brought them to her room. Other things in her circle included pieces of a deconstructed gun she had found, a screwdriver, a Rolex with dried blood, a pair of tweezers, and every single component of a camera that she had managed to smash into pieces – out of mechanic curiosity.

When her parents were away, she spent her time collecting her tokens and organizing everything in her room, in a way too familiar design.

Steps outside alerted Frost that his babysitting duties were over for tonight. The Joker pushed the door open, glaring at him. "Where's my spare ammunition?"" He waved his purple gun around impatiently, pushing the trigger to reveal an empty _click, click._

Harley followed behind him, blowing a kiss at Jaylie. "Hello, Puddin' Pie!"

Before Frost had time to answer, his Boss noticed the circle in the middle of the floor, and the toddler sitting inside.

Slowly Joker stepped closer. He stared at her and lowered his voice, to the one Frost recognized as _cut-and-run._

"You're the one who's been stealing Daddy's bullets, hmm?"

Jaylie looked up from her work. Wordlessly, she picked up a handful from the pile beside her and reached out to him. When the Joker didn't react, she flashed him a smile. "Here, Daddy."

He accepted the ammunition from her without a word, impatiently re-loading his gun. Harley relaxed slightly. "Get me more from the storage," Joker addressed Frost.

Jaylie returned to her task of arranging the leftover bullets, starting up her singing again without paying them any attention. "I'm laughing at clowns, so dark up above…"

Harley burst out giggling. "Did you hear that?" Her voice joined in on the modified song, and she made a wide pirouette into the room, dancing to imaginary music. "The gun's in my heart and I'm ready for love!"

Joker stood still for a few moments, craning his neck in annoyance as he put his gun back in his holster.

She blew a kiss at him. "Remember this, Puddin'? The rain of blood?"

"Oh, I do," he purred, grinning. He held out his hand for her, and Harley immediately latched onto him, giving him his most love-sick smile. He took a hold of her waist and they danced around the room while Frost excused himself.

Harley's eyes glazed over as the memory washed over her. She leaned into his ear and whispered: "I miss that harlequin suit. Too bad you ripped it off me."

He growled into her mouth as they waltzed around. Jaylie watched them intently from her place on the floor.

"I walk down the lane, with a happy refrain-"

Joker's darker voice joined hers. "Come on with the rain, I've got a smile on my face."

Harley quickly lost track of dancing in rhythm, and instead leaned in for a big kiss. "Let the stormy clouds chase ev'ryone from the place." Their laughter mixed together, and suddenly Jaylie tuned in.

It was the first time they had really heard her laugh. Harley reached out her hand and pulled her daughter to her feet. "Come on, Pumpkin! Show the laughing clowns!"

Jaylie's clear voice finished the song. "I'm swinging the brain against the jugular vein!"

Both her parents burst out maniacally cackling.  


**x**  


"So Batsy's been on our tracks again?" Joker walked slowly around the room.

The henchmen were assembled on their floor, some of them uneasily shifting. Frost stood on the side, eyeing Panda Man, Goat Man and some of those who had managed to survive longer.

The lower-ranked goons were frequently replaced, and Frost already knew that this was going to be a cleaning day. They were all pawns and none of them ever made it past the six-month-mark. Still they were paid well, which was necessary to keep their loyalty. Frost had made enough money to be able to buy his own Wayne Manor by now, but retiring alive from the Joker's gang was not ever an option.

Panda Man cleared his throat and spoke up. "We've been taking turns monitoring the street. No unusual activity, Boss."

Joker looked over at a group of the new-recruits, who were trying to avoid meeting his gaze. His signature smile lit up his face when he caught their nervousness.

"So no one's been here? Not even Maroni's dogs?" he asked, almost kindly.

One of them men relaxed a bit, shaking his head. "No, Boss."

Joker let his hands fall to the side in a bored gesture. "What a shame!"

Then, after a moment feigning deep thought, he impatiently called: "Harley!"

She came in through the main door, a wild smile on her face, dragging a bag behind her with one arm and a corpse in the other. Some of the new men flinched, while others kept their composure, well used to the sight.

They all watched as Harley Quinn dumped the bag on the floor, and let the corpse go. The badly beaten body of a man was put on display, still in its death throes. Harley flashed her teeth.

"Look what the kitty caught!" Joker cooed, his grin growing wider.

Harley giggled. "That's right, Mistah J!"

By now, the atmosphere in the room was uneasy. Harley looked bored now when her task was done, popping her pink bubble gum.

The Joker turned to face the lower-rank goon who had spoken to him.

He gulped. "I swear Boss, we had no idea! We kept close watch-"

"Hussssh." Joker walked closer to the man, quickly breaking his personal zone. "I _know_ you like to keep an _eye_ on things."

He held his arm out, expectantly, and Harley picked up an object from the bag and put it in his hand. Joker twirled the hammer in his hand for a moment, before he hit the man's forehead with a sudden, forceful movement.

The sound of the metal colliding with the skull made several men flinch, and the goon fell to the floor, gasping and grasping his face in shock. His eyes rolled back into his head and he convulsed.

Joker smoothed back his hair, carelessly dropping the hammer. "I must say, crowbars are more effective…" Harley snickered behind him.

He shrugged, then pulled out his purple switchblade and stabbed it into the upper part of the man's face, right through with one smooth movement. The man went silent. Joker withdrew the blade dripping with blood and wiped it off on the dying man's clothes before he put it back in his coat.

The other lower-ranked goons didn't move away from their dead colleague, trying to act tough. Joker turned against them, pulled out his gun and gave them all a head-shot.

"Now," he said, turning away from the dead bodies littering the floor. "Where were we?"

Frost looked neutrally at his Boss. Six new recruits needed. "Aside from this curious on-looker" – he avoided looking at Harley's victim – "we are safe. Batman has concentrated on the south-west part of Gotham lately, I have several reports confirming this fact."

Joker let the air seep out of his lungs for a long moment, while everyone waited in silence. "Good, good, can't keep the poor guy in the dark."

He readjusted his purple coat and glanced swiftly at Goat Man, Panda Man and Shark Man. They got the hint and started assembling their machine guns and costumes.

"Harley!" Joker barked, going towards the exit.

"One moment, Puddin', I just gotta put Jaylie to bed!"

Harley skipped up to the top floor and Joker grudgingly followed after. The men cleared out of the room, to prepare for whatever heist their Boss had planned for tonight, and some went back to the common room.

No one noticed the little girl slipping out from behind a stack of weapons, slipping silent like a mouse out in the open. She moved around the dead bodies that had been left behind until she finally found what she was looking for.  
  


x

A short while later some henchmen came in to remove the dead bodies, as per usual routine. A very particular sight met them.

They stopped in their tracks, not knowing how to react. More goons noticed and gathered in the main room, curiously taking in the sight.

"We should call the Boss," one suggested warily.

Frost was about to leave the henchmen's floor when Harley came sprinting down the stairwell. "Where's Jay?"  
  
Behind her Joker followed, looking thoroughly annoyed.

Frost glanced back at the main room where the men had gathered. Harley wasted no time pushing past him with the force of an attacking rhino. Frost followed after Joker into the main room.

The stabbed henchman was lying in the position he had been left, face-up on the floor. He was surrounded by a large puddle of blood that wasn't there before. A crimson stream was running towards the door, collecting around the other corpses.

Brain matter splattered across the puddle in big clumps, and Jaylie sat next to the man's head.

Concentrated on her task, she aimed another solid blow of the hammer in her hand, and with a _crack_ , like breaking an egg, his skull completely opened. Her hands were covered in the substance and her dress and arms were bloody.

She used the hammer one more time, imitating the movement she had seen her father do, to let the tool sink into the brain. More tissue and blood splattered across the floor. Fragments of the skull bone was littered all around her, small sharp pieces.

When she heard the new footsteps she looked up, showing a splatter of blood on her cheek. Calmly her eyes met the onlookers as she let go of the hammer.

The room was completely silent. Harley stood still and tense, nervously biting her lip and glancing at the Joker. This was a broken rule, she knew it too well. No one made a mess in this house except Joker, and no one touched the Joker's prey. They were his and his alone unless he had chosen to share them, that was the rule.

The henchmen and Jonny Frost were frozen in place, some of them thoroughly disgusted. No one seemed to breathe for a few moments. All the attention was drawn to the volatile man in the center, whose black shoes were soaked with the blood running across the floor.

Joker slowly let out a loud cackle, growing in intensity.

"Ha! Hahaha!"

The henchmen who weren't used to his moods squirmed a little, but the tension in the room seemed to evaporate. Joker's laughter echoed between the walls, crushing the stillness. Relief flooded through Harley.

An ominous smile covered the Joker's face as he stalked over and scooped Jaylie up into his arms.

"There's Daddy's girl," he cackled, throwing her into the air, letting her fall for a bit and then catching her. She giggled and wrapped her arms around his neck, covering the _All In_ tattoo. "A chip of the old block!"

The henchmen silently breathed a sigh of relief as they continued with their tasks, clearing out the room in record time. Frost followed with them, needing a glass of Scotch after this pressure.

Joker glanced over at Harley with a grin. "Whaddaya say we bring her to the 'Bare it sometime?"

"Outside, Daddy?"

"Do you wanna come out and play, Princess?"

She nodded resolutely.

Harley watched with a smile, slipping into her thoughts. This was like a hazy dream. She didn't care about the past, she never had. The present was all that ever mattered, something she had learned from the man in front of her.

But she could still remember the soft flutter against her palm, the realization that something had managed to grow where acid had corroded everything, the most intimate connection with him. She vaguely remembered the heavy days in her coma, waking up to find him sitting beside her, idly listening to whatever she had said in her deep slumber, laughing at her madness that reflected his.

She remembered his dark gaze connecting with hers, and she remembered just barely wondering what she had said, what the voices had made her say to him, before she slipped away into soft darkness again. He knew about Jaylie, _about J.J_ \- before she did. The blurred dreams, the agony, the blood that shouldn't be there in the empty prison cell, all the mental images were fading away, replaced with the memory of her only living baby, that had made everything right, splendid and perfect.

Harleen's face flashed for her inner vision, staring straight at her. _Is this what you wanted?_ Her voice was harsh, but Harley dreamily replied: "Yes, it is."

Joker looked at her when he heard her speak, and Jaylie looked too, big curious grey eyes matching her father's. Harley blinked back tears, the emotions threatening to overwhelm her. Enchantress' vision was still fading on her retinas.

Before any of them could detect her mood, Harley grinned and skipped forward, kissing Joker deeply on the lips. He purred into her mouth and Harleen was fading again, back into the shadows.

.

That night, after Harley had given Jaylie a bath – she grudgingly allowed her hammer to be cleaned – she tucked her into bed. Her daughter had recently been allowed to switch her crib to a bed instead, after a lot of fussing.

Jaylie put the hammer underneath her pillow and held onto it, like another kid would hold onto a blanket. Harley kissed her nose. "Just like your father."

The girl turned to look at her. "Will I be going outside soon, Momma?"

"Puddin' said so," Harley absentmindedly answered, humming a little tune.

"I want paint on my face like you. And earrings. So they know who I am."

"I'll make you the prettiest little princess," Harley promised. "Now which nursery rhyme do you want?"

Jaylie thought for a moment before she started singing, one that the Joker had taught her:

" _Who killed Cock Robin?_

 _I, said the_ _Sparrow_ _,_

_with my bow and arrow,_

_I killed Cock Robin._

_Who saw him die?"_

He had a thing for macabre songs, indeed. Harley smiled and tuned in.

" _Who caught his blood?_

_I, said the Fish,_

_with my little dish,_

_I caught his blood."_

Jaylie finished the verse, raising a pitch above:

" _Who'll dig his grave?_

_I, said the Bat,_

_with my little trowel,_

_I'll dig his grave."_

"Goodnight, Mommy," she mumbled when she had finished, her eyelids drooping.

"'Night my little Pumpkin Pie. Mommy loves you so much."

**x**

**x**

**x**

The hammer quickly became Jaylie's favorite weapon. She used it to demolish or crush things she found interesting, mostly technical devices of different kinds, watches and phones Harley had collected to her. The pieces all went to the growing collection in her room, along with the toys she had, her books about hyenas and the bullets.

As her fourth birthday approached, she became more persistent about the idea of getting to leave. Ever since her experiment with the henchman, she had been allowed to walk between the different levels of the building as she pleased, but never down in the garage. The _outside_ was still foreign, and every morning she watched the sunrise though her window.

Joker entered Jaylie's room one evening while Harley was occupied painting her nails black and pink. He had recently pierced her ears after her intense requests, and a small pink diamond was embedded in each of them. She had also made Harley draw a small "JL" on her wrist with permanent black marker, and a symbol like a diamond from a deck of playing cards underneath her left eye, in the same place where Harley had her heart.

"Hey Puddin'," Harley chirped as she put the nail polish away. "We were just finishing."

"Hurry it up, Harls."

Jaylie's eyes lit up when she saw the Joker reaching for something inside of his pocket. He pulled out a small butterfly knife with an engraved handle. He flipped it around and offered it to her.

"Thanks Daddy!" She rushed forward to accept the weapon, smiling brightly at him.

"My kid isn't gonna lack a proper knife. That's just a plain sacrilege." He grimaced as Jaylie eagerly studied the pink- and gold-engraved handle that fit perfectly in her small hand.

"I knew you'd like it, Cupcake!" Harley exclaimed, fixing her lipstick in the mirror. "I told Puddin' you couldn't go on using those stupid plastic things. How are you gonna get in a good stab with it?"

Joker huffed. "It just takes _precision_ and some good ol' force." He smoothed his hair back, already dressed up in gold chains and silk shirt. "Now come on, so we'll get to the club before dawn."

After he left the room, Harley hurriedly went through the drawers, filled to the brim with clothes. "I got you a perfect dress for this occasion! You're going to be the prettiest!"

"The club?" Jaylie's eyes widened. She picked up her hammer out of pure reflex, keeping it close to herself.

Harley nodded eagerly. "I can't wait to show you where Daddy and Mommy goes to have fun!"

She showed her a sparkling dress with a sequin pattern, black and pink overlapping each other, with matching pink leggings and shoes. When Jaylie was dressed, she spun around in front of the mirror in her room. Harley, wearing a matching pink dress, cooed. "You're so cute I could just eat ya up!"' She used a hairpin shaped like a flower and put it in her hair, to finish the look.

When they went to meet the Joker, Jaylie asked: "What will they think of me?"

She had her new knife stashed underneath her dress, always on the lookout for Batsy and the Bad People.

Harley took a hold of her hand. "They look at you and they will see the future queen, baby."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Drop me a comment!  
> See you next time!


	8. The Princess

"Move on over baby, fifteen's over-rated  
It's getting kinda crazy  
I can see the future and I'mma tell ya honestly  
There's no loyals when you're fronting like royalty"  
_Royalty - Alexi Blue_  


* * *

  
There was a new rumor circulating in Gotham's underworld, and this one revolved about nothing less than the Joker. It had spread like wildfire over the last months, and everyone who were said to have found out what it was all about, had been found dead.

Gambol, high-ranked mobster boss, would rather not meet with his business partner during those circumstances, but he had his reputation to protect and money to make, and he would have them all know he wasn't some pussy needing witness protection every time the white-skinned lunatic tried to pull some stunt. Thus, he ended up sitting across from the Joker at the Grin and Bare It. The clown prince was his usual self, sporting expensive clothes and jewelries.

"We're just waiting for our main guests," Joker told him as he leaned back in the plush VIP seat.

Gambol tried to make sense of it, knowing he always held his meetings one-on-one. His own bodyguards had been left outside the booth. "Who's that?"

"Ohh…" The Joker grinned, giving him a look. "You haven't met Jay yet…"

So that was what it was about. The Joker had a new bitch, Gambol figured. He had heard a lot of how he used to flaunt the last one around. His own business partner Monster T was rumored to have looked at her wrong before his death but Gambol prided himself on being smarter.

The Joker gestured at the golden drapes that isolated them from the rest of the club on the top floor. "The one and only, Gotham's next little monster."

If he was going to be introduced to something, at least that indicated he'd be allowed to keep his place in the hierarchy, Gambol decided. It was one step closer to overtake him. He downed his drink and wondered what the hell was coming.

The drapes were pulled aside by a thin hand and no one than Harley Quinn passed through, dressed in gold, shining with her forbidden allure. She smiled brightly at the Joker. "Ready, Puddin'?"

He purred at her. "Come over here, baby."

Gambol noticed the child in Harley Quinn's arms. He tried not to stare, but it was impossible to ignore. Harley gave him a deceivingly sweet smile when she noticed. She put the little girl down on the ground.

He tried to cover up his surprise as he processed the absurd situation. The clowns had kidnapped someone's kid and dressed it up in their own image. He was not sure if it could get any more morbid than that, considering the child's parents most likely were floating in Gotham's sewer system. However, he knew to keep his mouth shut.

The girl smiled sweetly at him.

"This is Jaylie," Harley said, and he was forced to look at her.

Their stolen kid surely had been adapted to their way of living. She was dressed up just as extravagantly as the clowns. She wore her light blonde hair in two miniature ponytails and wore face paint: small ink hearts, clubs and diamonds decorating her temples.

Harley tapped her shoulder like a mother encouraging her child to speak to her new friends. The girl skipped over to Gambol's seat and smiled widely at him. "Hello, Mistah."

Her eyes looked strikingly similar to the man who sat across from him, and her resemblance to Quinn could not be denied either. It felt like he had been splashed with cold water when the realization struck him. Those two psychopaths had not only managed to conceive a kid and keep it alive, they also felt the need to bring it to the most infamous club in the city and flaunt it around.

Gambol looked back at the Joker's wolf-toothed smile and forced himself to keep his cool. That little brat with her ballerina tutu was the secret that many of his business partners had been killed for.

The little girl tilted her head to the side, looking up at him with wide, innocent eyes.

"What are ya waiting for?" Harley interrupted. "How do you treat a lady?"

Well-acquainted with the stories, Gambol reluctantly bowed his head before her. Harley snapped her fingers impatiently, glaring at him. It took him a moment to understand, but he decided he better do as they said, and turned towards the kid. He was filled with fury of the humiliation of having to pay his respects to a little girl, when the girl reached out a manicured hand towards his face.

He kissed the top of her hand lightly; head bowed, well aware of the clown's stares. Harley smirked as her hand pulled away from his face.

A mischievous look appeared on Jaylie's face. She turned around to look at her parents. "Can I play with him?"

"Of course you can," Harley cooed.

Gambol was unnerved by the little girl climbing up and sitting next to him, as if she was totally unaware of who he was.

"Get us somethin' to drink, doll." At the Joker's gesture, Harley moved over and sloppily poured whisky in their glasses, showing off her behind to the Joker. She gave Jaylie a glass of juice with an umbrella inside, and she started sipping from the straw.

"By the way, you owe me three months of protection," Joker commented idly, leaning back and folding his arms behind his neck. Gambol was growing increasingly annoyed at how the kid sat so close to him, without seeming the slightest bit uncomfortable, but kept his attention on his host.

"What for?" he retorted. "I don't need no protection, they need from me."

Harley giggled and Joker peered at her, still looking bored.

"It's protection from Mistah J," she informed him with a vicious smile.

Gambol picked up his whisky glass, distracting himself from having to answer that. Deranged clown. He was in no position to deny him that right now.

He suddenly noticed that the girl was holding a golden bracelet in her small hands – his own chain.

"Hey! Give it back," he hissed, resisting the urge to backhand the brat. Straight across from him the Joker was watching, daring him.

Jaylie smirked, her eyes sparkling with mischief. She put the bracelet on her own wrist.

"Now, what did you come here for?" Joker asked, still acting bored.

Gambol suppressed his anger. "We got another big coke delivery yesterday. Everything's going according to plan."

He felt a movement close to him and turned to see the girl's hand in his suit pocket, looking for something else to steal. Gambol looked back to see if Joker was going to discipline his damn brat, but the man seemed completely uninterested in their behavior. Harley was sitting close to him with one knee in his lap, sipping her drink and gazing at the dance floor. He ran his hand possessively over her waist.

Gambol took a look at himself and saw that the folded silk napkin in his suit was gone as well. He tensed up. _Psycho brat. Time to teach you some manners.  
_

"Don't touch my stuff," he to the kid sternly, staring at her and hoping to scare her to obedience. She withdrew her hand with a giggle.

"I'm sorry, Mistah," she said with wide, childish eyes, pulling out a small basket from behind her. She held it up to him, offering something that looked like pastel-colored pieces of candy. "Do you want to have a tea party with me?"

"No," he hissed.

The Joker caught onto his reaction and grinned deviously. "Go on, don't be rude to the Princess."

"She made them herself," Harley added proudly, before placing a trail of kisses down the Joker's neck, completely turning his attention to her. He growled as Harley leaned closer to him, and they were caught up in each other.

Gambol was left dealing with Jaylie, who shoved the basket into his face. "Have some candy, Mistah! I didn't mean to make you mad!"

Angrily defeated, he took one piece from the basket. She watched him intensely as he put it in his mouth. A thick, sugary taste filled his mouth. It was disgustingly sweet, but he forced himself to swallow a bit.

"When I give candy to people, they go to sleep for a veery long time," she giggled.

Gambol spat it out, glaring daggers at her. "What?" he hissed through clenched teeth. "You damn little –"

"You didn't eat it!" Her face scrunched up and she reached out the basket to him again. He pushed her away, but she reached up on her knees to get better access to him. She held a piece of candy in her hand as she tried to feed him.

When Gambol roughly moved his arm to get her off him, she lost her balance and fell straight into his lap. The basket fell onto the floor and its content spilled all over.

A sudden silence alerted him to his mistake.

His hand had instinctively wrapped around her wrist, and when he let go of it, his fingerprints were visible on her small arm. Jaylie whined in pain and pulled away from him.

At the same time Harley Quinn approached him like an angry lioness, at the sight of her daughter sprawled across the mobster's lap. She grabbed a glass from the drink table and slammed it into Gambol's head, sending a flood of whisky over the seat. "Don't you touch my kid!"

The Joker's expression alarmed him more than Quinn's. When Harley had dealt the blow with the drink glass, she backed off on his wordless command. She sank down next to the Joker, glaring at the mobster. Jaylie retreated to the safety of her lap, eagerly watching the scene in front of her.

The poisoned candy crunched underneath Joker's shoes as he stood up and smoothed his hair back.

Gambol was bleeding from the head, alcohol and fragments of glass burning in his scalp, but he was sure the injury was not fatal. In any case he knew that he needed to backtrack immediately. This had already gotten out of hand, and he valued his life more than his pride. Crossing the Joker never ended too well.

"I'm sorry," he said as he picked up a napkin and held it against his head. He looked pleadingly at the psychopaths. "I didn't mean no disrespect to the kid, really. It was an accident."

"Reeally?" The Joker smiled at him like an hyena, deadly, metal teeth flashing. "You're sorry?" he mocked. " _Really_ sorry?"

"Yeah - we can settle this, alright. I'll pay whatever you want, let's just -."

"Don't ask _me._ Maybe you're getting dementia, old man. Who's she again?"

Gambol tried to focus through the pain. "She's your kid, Joker …"

"That's right." His grin became wider.

Before Gambol had time to reply, Joker shot him in both kneecaps. He doubled over, feeling blood drip into his lap as the pain hit him. The bullets lodged deep enough to permanently shatter the bone. A moment later, two other bullets struck his hands. He collapsed on the floor.

Joker turned away, shrugging as he called for Frost who waited outside.

"Get his boys in here to pick him up." Gambol's henchmen moved in to pick up their boss who had now passed out from blood loss.

Frost knew why the Joker did not let Gambol die with the experience. Instead, for every day of the rest of his life, the now crippled mobster boss would remember what the Joker did to him because of that little girl.  
  


x

When the body was gone, Harley slipped away to the dance cage to entertain herself. The club went on as usual no matter what transpired in the booths.

Joker turned to Jaylie, growling. He put his face only inches away from hers. "Daddy doesn't like you getting in the way of his business and making a mess all the time."

"I was just trying to poison him, Daddy," she innocently said.

He grimaced at her. "You've killed six of them already. I don't have time for this. If you ruin another deal for me, you can stay in your tower for good."

"I don't want to!"

His fist collided with the wall next to her head. She didn't even flinch. She kept the same confident and almost bored expression Harley had when he took his anger out on her - as if she knew he would never cause her any real harm. Her confidence was not the only thing Harley had given her and it fueled his frustration.

He stared her down, and she calmly met his gaze.

"What was that again?"

"Yes Daddy." She gave a small smile, apparently trying to charm him.

He turned away from her, snarling. "Harley!" he called, and she danced over. "We're leaving."

"How about we go out for some pizza, Puddin'?" Harley looked eagerly at him. Jaylie's face lit up.

He thought for a moment, the mental wheel spinning in his head changing his mood. A slow grin crept onto his face.

"It's been a while since we took a restaurant hostage, hasn't it?"

x

As the rode the Lamborghini, Jaylie sat in Harley's lap and gazed at the surroundings with wide eyes. This was the place her Mommy and Daddy went when they left her at home, she had figured. It was the funniest thing she could ever imagine, and she laughed along with her parents as they zigzagged through the streets in a deadly pace. The city was bigger than she had ever imagined from their stories. Despite having been allowed to play in the club for months, she had never before been outside.

Joker pulled up at one of his favorite restaurants and the four-year-old jumped out of the car. She eagerly looked around in all directions. Tall buildings with glowing windows in the dark hovered above them, streets leading in every direction… she wanted to follow them all. Excitement was running through her, knowing it was her own playground.

"Come on Puddin' Pie, this way!" Harley waved at her.

"Mommy, can I go look around? I wanna go to the ice-cream shop!"

"It's closed right now baby. But we can always break in…" Harley giggled, her daughter's excitement affecting her. "What do ya say, Puddin'?"

"I want ice-cream." Jaylie pouted.

"We'll get you some tomorrow!"

"Quit taking your time with the sightseeing!" Joker grumbled, before drawing his weapon and walking into the restaurant. Harley followed, and Jaylie took a hold of her hand.

"Good evening, ladies and gents!" He grinned as the guests started scattering in a panic. The well-dressed woman behind the counter stared at them in recognition and horror.

"Don't break your legs, I won't bite!" Harley shouted after an elderly couple that almost fell over their own feet in an attempt to get away. Almost everyone gathered at the second exit, running for their lives. Joker fired a few rounds into the crowd for the hell of it, then leaned over the counter with a wide maniac grin. "The usual please."

The woman glanced over to Harley and Jaylie who stood by her side, grasping her hand.

"K-kids menu?"

Joker rolled his eyes in an exaggerated gesture and looked over his shoulder. "What do ya think, Harls?"

She responded with a toothy grin. "A pepperoni pizza. Oh, and I want a large coke!"

"Me too!" Jaylie chimed in, feeling secure enough to let go of Harley's hand and skip over to the counter. The woman stared at her in undisguised horror and confusion.

Joker waved his gun in her face. "Hurry up, will ya?" She nodded and quickly withdrew into the kitchen area.

They found a spot in the empty restaurant that gave them a good view of the nightly city from above. Jaylie munched on her pizza and tried to keep herself awake, but the long and exciting night out had taken its toll on her. Her eyelids started drooping and after awhile, despite the caffeine from the cola, she fell asleep in Harley's lap.

x  
x  
x

"Mama?" The sound of small footsteps tip-toeing across the carpet. "Mommy?"

She took faster steps, her little pigtails skipping with every movement of her head. She crawled on top of the enormous bed in the master bedroom."Mommyyyyyy?"

Harley rolled over and smiled sleepily. When Jaylie approached she pulled her into her arms. Her little princess, her mini monster, baby grey eyes staring curiously at her. "Can we go outside today?"

"Where's your Daddy?"

"He said he doesn't have time. He's in the shower." She frowned.

"Alright Puddin' Pie." Harley's face got a mischievous look as she started tickling her. Jaylie squirmed and giggled, trying to get away. She decided to tickle back with fierce determination, causing them both to squirm. Harley buried her face in her hair as her fingers traveled over her stomach.

She pouted. "Can't we go get ice-cream already?"

"Sure!" Harley sat up in the bed and yawned. She stretched her arms above her head and started looking around for her lipstick. "What kind do you want?"

Jaylie huffed. "I only like vanilla, the one Frosty buys!"

_We've got vanilla, or strawberry...  
_

_My job is to keep you alive until you die.  
_

A bright white room. Harley blinked, one, two, three times. Metallic bars on all sides. The only light source coming from the opening in the ceiling. Something hard in her nose, a heavy breath on her face _._

She was frozen in place, unable to move as a thick wave of nausea filled her throat. Her daughter's face faded away when the new image took over. She was lying on the concrete floor again, staring unseeingly at the blinding white in the ceiling. Men were gathered around her cage, her body quickly going numb. She was crooning a lullaby through broken lips and a dry throat. Blood between her legs.

A faint memory of a windshield breaking, the glass cutting through her belly. A quiet sound, filled with more pain than she thought she had, left her mouth.

"Vanilla?" she choked out.

Jaylie stared at her, tilting her head to the left in confusion. "Mommy?"

Harley was completely out of air, her hands pressed to her abdomen. She was falling down, down, throwing herself against the bars with a scream, before electrical currents hit her like a truck, numbing her down, locking her muscles.

A a lifeless baby in her arms, her son - _Baby. Baby is gone. They killed Baby – I've got to kill them – Batsy and Waller killed my Baby -_ She wanted to scream, to numb herself into oblivion again.

Jaylie crawled into her lap, wrapped her small arms around her neck and anxiously whispered: "Mommy, what's wrong?"

Harley blinked slowly, the vibrant images fading, her entire body tense for a fight. The child held onto her tightly, worry in her face.

For a moment only the two of them existed in the universe, two heartbeats in the vast space. She had never truly been alone, not even in the endless days, months, at Belle Reve. It was always her and Baby, her little butterfly that had existed in the back of her mind since she first was conceived, waiting to surface. All a part of _him_.

Harley blinked the moisture away from her eyes. "Mommy lost her first baby, but Puddin' gave me a new one – that was you," she said with an absent smile, her gaze lost far away.

Jaylie's eyes locked onto hers, forcing her to come back. Her arms tightened around her, as if she tried to protect her from her mind. "I'm sorry Mommy. I promise I won't go."

Harley placed her forehead against hers. "I love you so much." She kissed her cheek. "Now let's go out."


	9. Breaking the Rules

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She was his kid and he was going to get her back, with his hands covered in the blood of everyone who thought they could take her from him.

 

"Your mother said to pick the very best girl  
And I am"  
_Tag You're It - Melanie Martinez_

 

* * *

 

Getting near the clown prince's daughter was like kneeling down and waiting for the execution. Still, if they somehow, in a theoretical, alternative universe got away with this, they could do just about anything. The mobster henchmen tried to stay optimistic.

She was such a strange kid. After the initial biting and struggling when they pulled her into the car – and damn, she had a mouthful of teeth she tried to bury in the flesh of anyone who came close – they had knocked her out.

Frank wrapped a cloth around his bleeding hand. "She's like some fucking attack dog."

Jerry, the driver, rolled his eyes. "She's gotta be breathing. Don't be too rough."

The girl was slowly regaining consciousness. She was placed against the back wall in the van, hands bound and duct tape placed over her mouth. With her primary weapon gone, she just resigned to glaring daggers at them.

Those grey eyes were strangely malevolent for belonging to such a small child. No sign of fear or hysterics.

Ryan glanced at her. She still wasn't crying. Weren't they supposed to do that after something like this? She just played with the hem of her ballerina tutu.

With their boss Gambol still in a private hospital recovering from gunshot wounds that almost cost him his life, their orders were clear. Despite the numerous freaks in costumes the Joker kept around, his trips into the city were done without his crew, which made it easier to get to the girl. Not that it had been _easy_ to begin with. Luck had been on their side, finally, and she was reckless.

Ryan sat across from her, keeping watch of her during the car ride. After a while her glare faltered unless someone directly looked at her, but it turned more and more into a strange calm. He was pretty sure kids did not act like that after being forcefully tied up and gagged.

She just sulked, sometimes looking up at them to give them another murderous look as if she wanted to claw their eyes out.

He almost felt bad for it, especially after she started fidgeting after a while. But they had all seen the determinant rage in those tiny arms and legs of hers, how she was capable of kicking and clawing. So they kept her tied up.

 

**xxx**  
  


Jaylie Quinn was absolutely _seething_.

Normally when she got into one of those moods, she'd pick up her favorite toy, a small knife or her bat, and act on it. Never on Mommy or Daddy, of course, but there was always another guy around that she could stab, hit, or bite. It was funny to see how much she could do before they fell to their knees and started screaming, but most of all Mommy and Daddy's pleased faces.

She had dropped her knife, the one she had kept stashed beneath her dress was taken from her and she had no weapons. It was terribly frustrating to not even be able to bite.

She was aware of her situation, but she hated herself for falling into it from the very beginning. All because she broke The Rules.

There were plenty of rules, and being almost five years old she was well aware of them. The Rules were annoying, but she had to follow them, or Daddy would get mad and not let her go outside for a while.

First, she recalled, never get out of Mommy or Daddy's sight when not at home. She often got to go outside, and she had stayed with them like a good girl.

Until the car pulled up, and she was used to big, shiny cars – new sparkly cars every day, taking her and her Mommy and Daddy somewhere. Mommy had told her to wait outside and the car was there. She had approached the car, it was so boring to stand outside and wait for them. The guy in the car even waved at her, maybe it was Panda.

But the car didn't wait for Mommy and Daddy, and when she got in, they suddenly yanked her arm and sped away. After that she couldn't really recall what happened, but she had broken the next rule:

Never go away on your own. Always have Frosty or some other guy follow.

Now she was sitting there, furious, at the rules she had broken. And the guys who she fought with, they had pulled her hair and kicked her around. They had forgotten that she was a _princess_. They had taken her from her kingdom and she wanted to kill them for it.

Third rule was always ask Daddy or Mommy for permission before playing with someone. How was she supposed to play with them now? Her arms still ached.

One of the men carried her out of the car and she was put in a windowless room.

She sat still with bound arms and legs, making no attempt to move. She knew when Daddy tied some guy up to play with him, they never escaped. Instead she watched the men who surrounded her.

When Daddy was thinking, and Mommy bothered him he got mad at her. Jaylie watched him instead; it was a far more effective way to get his attention. She would sit silently as a mouse and watch him as he thought out some game for Batsy.

Daddy always held something in his hand when he thought. Sometimes his Purple Cane, that Jaylie was not allowed to handle, or a knife or another toy. He always noticed her staring, no matter how silent she was or if she tried to hide out of his sight in various places. Sometimes he pretended that she didn't exist, other times he mocked her or told her to come out. She would climb into his lap and look at the computers and Ipads in front of him.

She loved those times the most, when he was in deep thought about Batsy or some other plan, and she was allowed to be near and watch. It made her excited, it made her feel important like Mommy and Daddy, to watch them prepare. Daddy would tell her about his plans for the night, letting her in on the secrets.

She noticed that two men stayed to guard her and a third one came in now and then. She waited as the time passed by, watching the men watching her.

x

Several hours later, one of the men was leading her back to the room after having escorted her to the bathroom – on the condition that her hands remained bound in front of her. At the same time, the guy who drove the car and several others came in to the room.

One glanced at her. "There's been an explosion not long from here," he muttered. She concluded he was not feeling well, he was starting to get a layer of sweat on his forehead. "The clown's on our tracks. Boss needs to hurry up. Don't let her out of your sight."

He stomped out, followed by the other men. One of the guards scowled. "We should have had the ransom exchange by tomorrow."

Around midnight, the men returned. Jaylie had fallen asleep on the concrete floor, but their loud entrance woke her up. She felt cold and her legs had fallen asleep from the uncomfortable position, a crawling sensation in her legs.

"As soon as we get the word, we're moving her," the sweaty man ordered.

"Are you kidding me?" another man hissed, putting down his box of Chinese take-out. "After all the damn trouble we went through to get her here?"

"Shut the fuck up. If she's here when the lunatic comes, we're dead meat."

"Move her where?" a man asked, the one she knew was called Ryan.

Sweaty glared at him. "I don't give a fuck, just put her in a hole somewhere until the clown pays up, got it?"

When Sweaty and his men had left the room, Ryan and the other guard seemed to relax. Ryan moved closer to her, holding a blanket in his hand.

As soon as he came within her range, Jaylie lunged at him, still bound, trying to smash her head into his chin. She growled through the duct tape, signaling at him in the hyena language she had read about - _if you_ _come any closer I will rip your throat out._

Ryan backed off and the other guard laughed. "If she does that again, knock her out."

She pretended she was a wolf, retreating back after a successful kill. Soon she fell asleep again, curled up on the floor.

Someone was shaking her awake. The men were back, their loud voices hammering against her head. She didn't want to move yet, she was dizzy and sleepy, but they dragged her upright. She kicked them, they had released her legs to make her walk, and shoved her out of the room. She tried to bite them through her duct tape and received a slap in return.

Cold air surrounded her as they pushed her outside. It was still dark outside and she saw nothing until she was thrown into the car again. She landed on her stomach and all air was pressed out of her as she crawled into a corner. The car started moving.

She was jerked forward when the car stopped. Someone roughly grabbed her hair and arms and lifted her out of the car. She let her body go limp, playing dead. Voices nearby caught her attention.

"Open the goddamn door."

"I'm trying to."

The man who carried her put her down on the ground, keeping one arm around her. She pretended to be sleep-walking, hanging limply in his grip. The duct tape had almost fallen off her mouth due to the saliva gathering around her lips. She poked her tongue out repeatedly until it fell off.

She gazed through her eyelashes and saw a large metal door, leading into darkness. She thought of the wild hyenas in the jungles, the wolfs in the forests. _I'm a hyena, Mommy._ She turned and bit into the man's forearm, closing her jaws around him as hard as she could, pretending she was crushing her prey. He cursed and let go of her.

She ran.

Heavy footsteps followed as she sprinted, using the last strength in her small, tired body. Large containers and dumpsters were showing up on every side of the street. The men were coming closer. She remembered playing Tag with Mommy and Daddy once. If she tried to run, they would always catch her. Daddy was fast but Mommy was quicker than him, leaping up in the air like a ballerina. Jaylie had her own strategy - she hid. When she didn't want to be found, they could never find her.

She rounded a corner, squeezed herself in between some garbage cans, and crouched between the brick wall and a large container. She was completely out of breath, nauseous and dizzy from the sprint, hungry and cold and most of all she missed Mommy and Daddy. Curling to a ball with her arms around her knees, she let the exhaustion take over.  
  


**xxx**  
  


Joker stalked into the room, his eyes wild and crazed like an animal.

" _Where_ is she?"

"Wh-where is who, boss?" The henchman, one of the lower ranks, swallowed nervously as his heavy breathing Boss' face came right into his view.

"Whoooo?" Joker echoed, forcing the man to press himself against the wall.

He put his gun against the trembling man's chin, stroking it slowly, then he raised it and thrust the gun into his mouth. The goon gave a startled yelp.

Joker growled low in his throat, his face right in front of the man, his entire body rigid. He pressed the barrel of his gun against the man's fleshy throat.

"Where. Is. Jay-lie."

"I- I don't know boss. Someone took her away -"

"Ding-dong, wrong answer."

With an annoyed hiss, Joker pulled the trigger. He then turned around, put it back into his holster and wiped some brain substance off his face. "Jonny!" he hissed.

His right-hand man glanced at the rest of the assembled henchmen before looking back to the jester. "Yes, boss."

Joker stared in front of himself. "Bring the car around."

Harley had been a hysterical mess ever since they found out Jaylie had been taken. She had been continually lost in her head, battling the voices, tears and mascara streaming down her face. Joker growled as he followed her out to the street once again.

The reason he allowed her to bear that child to term was because of this - to keep her out of that state of mind that she returned in after Belle Reve. The days spent in comatose, the place inside her head where he couldn't reach her. And now, because of the brat, she was back in that state again. He hated them both for it.

Another part of him knew the kid was allowed to exist for another reason - she was his. A heir to the madness he had created. And she was _gone_. The girl had slipped out before them and when they got to the street, no one were in sight, just a now deceased henchman saying he had seen an unmarked car speed away.

He ground his teeth together as the fury threatened to overwhelm him. Any goon in his sight that wasn't intensely engaged in the hunt had gotten a bullet to the head. Whoever dared to steal his property was going to pay.

It had been a full day and he couldn't sleep, couldn't focus, just tried to get Harley's wailing and sobbing out of his head so he could think of the next course of action. He considered knocking her out.

As usual, her only plan had been equivalent to her impulsive instinct - to search frantically, and violently, for her lost child. This resulted in endless casualties but no success. Joker on the other hand focused on tracking down everyone who had any involvement in this. An eye for an eye, make no mistake.

The blood lust had taken over completely. The urge to enact his revenge on everyone who dared to take from him was overwhelming. They had taken Harley away, and by doing so she had lost their kid once already.

He was filled with merciless rage, refusing to let another one slip away from his grip, refusing to let Harley slip away. She was _his_ , the kid was _his_ and he was going to get her back, with his hands covered in blood.

His vengeful fury helped him, as always, powering his body, his mind, to think up brutal schemes. He would let everyone drown in his vindictiveness. He would pour hell down on them.

He knew the brat would cause him trouble sooner or later, just like Harley, a pain in the ass. She had become a permanent part of their day-to-day life.

It was almost funny, ironical, the Joker worked up because of a brat. One henchman had quietly expressed his disbelief of the situation, and that was the last time he ever had an opinion - he was strangled by his furious boss.

Jonny Frost had rarely ever seen his Boss in such a state of disarray and rage - the Joker's gone crazy. It reminded him of his violent fits after finding out about Harley's location in Belle Reve.

Frost had been involved in enough hostage and kidnapping situations to know the drill. They had received an anonymous ransom demand for a couple of million dollars but the Joker had not even considered paying.

When Harley disappeared six years ago, Joker would have gladly accepted any ransom, just to murder the recipients later, but this was different.

Harley was fully capable of defending herself or killing anyone that got in her way. A child on the other hand... no matter if she was Boss' daughter, she had a clear disadvantage in this world, a world that was completely unfit for a child. She could not hold her own and that made the situation much more urgent.

She had been pulled into a car and that was that. Frost doubted they would ever see her again. Gotham's streets were no place for a child, not even a hammer-wielding one.

Truth to be told, she didn't stand a chance.

He stepped over the bodies littering the floor and followed after Boss and Quinn to hunt for the girl. This was going to be a field day.

* * *


	10. In The World

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For the first time in her life Jaylie is alone, and a race against the clock begins.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back! My apologies for the long wait, health issues came between, but here we are!

"Well I'm a total wreck and almost every day  
Like the firing squad or the mess you made.  
Well don't I look pretty walking down the street  
In the best damn dress I own?"  
_Give 'Em Hell Kid - My Chemical Romance_

* * *

 

"Rick, I can't do this again."

"Yeah, you can. I don't like it either, but we have no choice."

June Moone glanced over her shoulder, as if to check if they were being followed. It wasn't unlikely that Amanda Waller sent some civil agents or even the Secret Service to watch them. It was apparent the woman did not trust Rick anymore. He had been soiled by the emotional attachments he had to June, but he still wasn't deemed useless.

June reached for his hand to put the thoughts out of mind.

"It'll be over soon," he muttered, keeping his gaze focused on the street. This was duty to him, another job that had to be done.

She knew she was being stupid. This was all just a safety measure. All because Rick had heard her calling for the Enchantress in her sleep, and worried for her safety he had called Amanda Waller. Having Rick by her side felt safer, she wouldn't be alone if it happened again. _If_ it happened.

It should be impossible, but Amanda Waller believed in the impossible, that was her profession. That's why they were going to Midway City now, for this final test, to see if the memory of the train station would unleash the demonic entity. A test that could result in massive collateral damage, but Waller was not concerned.

Rick squeezed her hand as they walked down the street, heading toward the underground metro _. This is all normal_ , she tried to tell herself. She was no longer possessed by an evil entity and he was not the soldier sent to guard her. They were just a normal couple… sent on a government mission.

This part of Gotham was worn-down and generally unsafe, but Waller's missions were never comfortable. Rick was armed, of course, but wearing civil clothes. This was not _that_ kind of mission. They still couldn't draw attention to themselves by taking the closest, more comfortable route.

This early in the morning, the sun had barely managed to appear behind the roof tops, and the street was starting to wake up. Voices drifted out from the apartments, a car sped by as they rounded a corner.

June noticed something in the corner of her vision when they passed by a dumpster.

"Rick…" She stopped. "Wait, I saw something."

He scanned the surroundings, always looking out for them both. He knew her curiosity always got the best of her and she had paid a high prize for that; the destruction of Midway City almost six years ago was the proof of that.

"It was probably a stray. Come on, let's go and get this over with."

With an archeologist's trained eye, June let her gaze sweep over the landscape of dumpsters, trashcans and parked cars. No other sign of movement. Yet, she was sure she had seen something.

She took a few steps back and turned, ignoring Rick's annoyance as she looked behind the massive object. In the small space between the dumpster and the brick wall, there was a small sleeping form nestled up.

"Rick!" Her voice sounded strangely pitched. He walked over to her side, warily.

A little girl was curled up on her side on the ground, dusty blonde hair covering her face. Her dress was torn and her arms bruised. She moved a little when she heard June speak.

June slowly crouched down. "Hey, are you alright?"

The child blinked for a few moments, ice blue eyes staring at them.

"I've got a bad feeling about this," Rick muttered.

She stared at them, crawling backwards a little. Her face was covered with scribbled, smudged black diamonds and hearts along the temples. It reminded Rick of a certain person he'd had responsibility for once.

The kid's entire appearance almost gave him chills. She reminded him of the children wounded by war he had seen during his time as a soldier, the strange emptiness in their eyes. She looked _torn_.

"Come with us," he told her, crouching down and reaching out a hand.

She sat up quickly, trying to back away from them, as she shook her head intensely.

As Rick made no move to withdraw, she tensed up and grabbed hold of a sharp metal piece that she had hid behind her back. Her eyes were wide as her hands firmly wrapped around the metal piece, holding it like a weapon in front of her.

She got up on her feet, ready to strike at any moment. Rick moved in front of June to disarm the kid, but his wife put her hand on his arm.

"Wait, Rick. You can't approach her like that, you're only gonna scare her more."

"Let me handle this," he snapped back. "I'll call the police, and they'll take her to the hospital. We have other things to do."

"I won't go to the hospital!" Her steady voice made them both freeze.

June looked at the girl, who resembled a frightened kitten with bared claws. Something within her knew that look all too well.

She remembered when the Enchantress first possessed her body, how terrified she was of being locked away forever, put away into a mental hospital for the rest of her life. How horrified she felt, out of all control… grasping for any piece of safety.

Then Rick had been assigned to guard her. He and his SWAT team had entered her bathroom with drawn weapons, finding a black pentagram on the wall and herself sitting in the bath, considering ending it all. _Help me_. Rick had treated her like a human being and not a monster. He had never forced her to anything.

June Moone saw herself in the kid, desperately asking for help.

"We're not going to take you to the hospital if you don't want to."

Rick frowned at her, about to protest, but she ignored him, softening her voice. "You're safe." She used the same words he had told her when she came back from a night of being possessed.

The girl looked suspiciously at them. June tried to smile encouragingly.

Rick glared at her. "Are you serious?" She mouthed _wait_ to him and looked the girl in the eyes.

She relaxed slightly but kept her grip around the metal piece. "Do you promise?"

"I promise I won't take you there today," June said, ignoring her spouse's defeated look. "But you can't stay here in the street, it's dangerous. Let's just get you out of here. Come on."

The girl shook her head.

"I promise nothing bad will happen to you," June coaxed. "This is no place for you. If you don't come with us, I will have to call the police and they will take you to the hospital with force."

The child didn't move, baring her teeth.

June reached out a hand. "I will help you find your parents if you want?"

A smile grew wide on her face. It looked kinda strange, almost wry, enhanced by the face drawings and the messy hair. She didn't take the outreached hand, but nodded.

Then she put the metal piece away, stored in the pocket of her filthy dress. June could tell Rick was not happy about it, but she gave him a look to tell him not to argue. She was not going to take the last piece of safety away from a child.

He admitted defeat to her wishes, like always. "I'll tell Waller we'll do this later."

x

They called for a cab and took the girl with them to their apartment. It was impossible to get her to change out of her clothes once they arrived home, so June had let her keep them on and made the couch in the living room so the girl could sleep there for tonight. She did not have any apparent wounds or injuries, to their relief.

She smiled wordlessly when June gave her food, which convinced her that the girl was on some level grateful for the invitation. Still, something was unusual. The way this girl was dressed - golden threads with diamond studs embedded in the silky fabric of her filthy dress - suggested she was not living on the street. The implications of where she might have come from were too uncomfortable to dwell on.

Rick was not happy. The girl stayed in the living room all day watching cartoons, and fell asleep on the couch straight after dinner. He brought it up when they were alone in their bedroom.

"We need to call child protection services on that kid. Why can't we just drop her off at the hospital?"

"She's scared and she has no one to turn to, Rick! Just let her calm down from whatever trauma she's been through! She must have had it so rough…" Her voice grew lower. "She had marks of duct tape on her mouth. Give her some calm, please."

He shook his head. "Someone's probably looking for her. Do you realize we will be brought in for questioning?"

"I'm not planning to keep her here; I'll take her to the hospital tomorrow."

He looked at her, his face softening. "I know why you wanna do this, June."

He had seen the way she carefully had prepared the couch for the kid, reassured her that she was safe, given her food, and tried to offer her to change clothes into some of June's own.

She lowered her gaze. The child she could never have still lived in her dreams, and even though it had been years since she found out that she could never be a mother, she never really forgot.

"Maybe it's for the best, considering Waller exploits you all the time," Rick grumbled.

She raised her voice slightly. "Why are you so against us adopting?"

"You think we could adopt _her_?" Rick set his jaw tight. "That kid is going to a foster home, at best."

She placed her hand on top of his. "I saw the way you looked at her – what is it?"

Hesitantly his gaze turned to the closed bedroom door. He frowned. "... She reminds me of that crazy woman I had under my command in the Squad. Joker's gal."

June had a faint memory of her too. Even when trapped in the Enchantress, she could see what happened through her eyes. She had seen that woman crouching down, drenched in rain, makeup running on her face, tears in her eyes. _"I lost my Puddin'…. But you can get him back, right?"_

"Harley Quinn?"

He nodded, uncomfortable with the reminder. "Never mind."

On the other side of the door, Jaylie silently backed away from where she had been listening, and snuck back to the couch, metal scrap in her hand.

x

The next day, June noticed that the girl seemed very restless, constantly glancing at the door. Not until Rick left to meet Waller regarding the mission, she seemed to relax a little, and she understood she didn't trust him.

When June offered her a cup of juice, she thanked her with such a charming smile that June felt an instinctive urge to protect her.

She decided to pry, just a little, and sat down beside her on the couch. "What's your name? I'm June."

The girl looked down in her cup for a moment, and then spoke up with wide, innocent eyes. "I'm Lucy."

"Do you know where your parents are?"

She shook her head, a little sob rising from her. "You won't take me to the hospital, won't you? I'll be a good girl, I promise." Tears filled her eyes and June shook her head, feeling a desire to do anything this little girl asked.

"You have my word I won't do that right now. You're safe in here."

"I need to get back to Mommy and Daddy." She blinked the tears from her eyes and June's heart clenched. She had to stop herself from instinctively wrapping her arm around her shoulders. The girl seemed utterly abandoned.

"Yes, I will. Where do you live?"

Blue eyes met hers – they were strangely calm and didn't quite match her sobbing and quivering. "I don't know."

"Do you know your last name?"

June had a faint memory of herself as a kid, getting lost in an amusement park and crying into her candy cotton. An old lady looked at her forearm where her parents had scribbled their names and home phone number with a pen.

Lucy shook her head. June wished she could get some hints from the way the girl was dressed, but all she had was the faded black ink diamond on her cheek, the smudged initials "JL" on her wrist, and the various dots and hearts that had been carefully doodled with ink on her face.

"What does JL mean?"

The girl quickly pulled her hand back and hid it in the material of her dress.

"I'm sorry, I won't ask more." June smiled tentatively at the girl and she gave a small smile back, signaling the overstep was forgiven.

Rick's remark from the night before still lingered.

A few hours later June found the girl sitting in front of the TV again, expressionlessly watching a horror movie.

June frowned. Lucy didn't seem bothered at all by the blood and gore; her eyes followed every movement of the rusty saw on the screen with a blank face. She was curled up with her arms around her legs, as if it was a comforting children's movie. Not wanting to leave the kid alone with that kind of influence, June sat in the back of the room with a book, watching for any signs of distress but found none.

Jaylie remembered the movie nights with Mommy and Daddy. She would sit between them on the couch as they watched Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Saw, Jaws or something else. Daddy always got in a really good mood and kissed Mommy back when she cuddled him. Jaylie would doze off on Daddy's chest at the end of the movie. The Movie Nights were the only time she had them all to herself, they were only hers, and not even Frosty would interrupt.

When the movie was over, she squirmed, unable to hold back her impatience. "June?"

"Yes?"

"I remember where I live. Will you go with me?"

They walked side by side down the street, and June let the girl direct their path. She seemed so secure of where she was going, and June felt both relief for the girl but also slight worry. It was understandable that the shock from yesterday had made her forget. June had not spent much time with children in her days, but she supposed it made sense.

When they came to a crowded area next to a mall, several blocks away from the apartment, Lucy tugged on her hand.

"I'm gonna tell you a secret, Miss," she suddenly giggled. The helplessness she had shown before was gone; there was no hint of tears or insecurity in her. Her smile was conspiratorial, like she was doing something forbidden but knew she would get no reprimands. She let go of June's hand and whispered.

"Lucy's not here right now, so Jaylie took her place instead."

As June processed the information, the girl suddenly took off in the opposite direction.

"Wait! Lucy!" June tried to run after her, frantically looking in all directions, but there was no sight of the girl – she got lost among the crowd. A sense of dread and confusion filled her. "Lucy, come back!"

x

Jaylie didn't stop running until she was completely alone, like the night before. Darkness had begun falling again, and she felt safer and less exposed. The beige cardigan June had let her borrow kept her warm, but the color was awful. Mommy would burn it if she knew, she hated colorless things.

There was a crushed bottle on the ground. She had looked for a knife in June's apartment, but to her annoyance and surprise found none. Instead she picked up a few big, sharp glass shards and pocketed them carefully in her dress. Mommy and Daddy never went anywhere without a weapon.

A part of her had wanted to stay with June, but she couldn't sit by waiting for Mommy and Daddy any longer. She knew they owned a big place where they took her sometimes, with neon lights and lots of cars and people – she searched for the familiar red neon sign as she walked down the street.

After passing by several streets she approached a place with a big neon sign above: it reminded her of Daddy's club, but it wasn't quite the same. A group of men stood outside and their attention was immediately drawn to her.

"Where you going this late, little girl?"

She simply kept on walking as she looked for the right sign. She didn't know the name of the club, but she remembered the big red smile.

"Hey!" Steps behind her, rough laughter. "Where's your Mommy at?"

Demonstratively she narrowed her eyes and pressed her lips together as she faced the man. When she did that face in front of Frosty or the henchmen everyone got scared, and Daddy would laugh. _Better beware of her,_ he would say and mess up her hair. _This kitty can bite._

This man showed no reverence to her, and she felt the urge to snap her teeth at him. He grabbed a hold of her arm and she glared at him, baring her teeth. " _Let go_."

"I'll take you home," he offered.

She tried to pull away, looking for the sign, when his grip around her arm turned bruising hard.

"Come with me," he growled. He lifted her up and she let her body go limp, heavy. He walked through the darkness with steady, quick steps, his breathing heavy in her ear. As she made no resistance, he relaxed slightly, and she saw him heading towards a parked car.

She slammed a piece of glass into his jugular and twisted it. She felt warm pecks at her face as the blood sprayed across them. With a shout he dropped her to the ground and cursed loudly.

She got up on her bruised legs, trying to regain her balance and feeling her hands drip with warm blood. Her assaulter fell to his knees, desperately trying to stop the blood flow that colored his shirt. Still grasping the shard of glass, she ran as fast as she could, away from him and the empty street.

When her legs felt close to giving out she finally stopped, completely out of breath. The adrenaline still had her in a frenzy.

She was all alone again. Around her the walls closed in on every side, only darkness and occasional cars speeding by. Cold rain hit the roofs, making her shiver. She brought the bloody cardigan over her head and threw it away.

Finally the realization hit her, that she was completely lost in this vast space of streets, and her chest became suffocatingly tight. For the first time in her life she felt unsafe.

She missed Mommy's hugs and kisses more than anything, and sitting in Daddy's lap while he played with people.

_Don't cry, Mommy doesn't like seeing you cry._

Holding back a sniffle, she tried to put on a brave face, a confident smile.

_Daddy wants you to smile._

Unable to stop the tears filling her eyes, she blinked them away, but they kept coming.

She started singing to occupy herself, and to fill the silence all around her as she walked. At first her voice cracked, but slowly became steadier:

_"It's raining, it's pouring, the old man is snoring. He bumped his head and went to bed..."_

After a while the urge to cry disappeared and she calmed down. The street opened up before her again, leading several directions. Only one faint neon sign gave her hope. If it was something Daddy often talked about, it would lead her home.

 _Wayne Enterprises_.

x

 

Gotham's queen wasn't smiling tonight. Dried mascara adorned her cheeks like war paint and made her look frightening, as she leaned over the last survivor of a mafia hide-out. There was something hard and static about her, completely clashing with her reputation as the Grin and Bare It's golden doll, the careless bubblegum airhead.

"Do ya ever want to see ya kids again, mister? We got them all here outside."

The Joker was right behind her, of course, stroking the chin of the man who hurriedly started explaining his innocence. He leaned close to him, unkempt green hair touching his face. "You tell me where my kid is, or we'll play a game."

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter is already written, I just had to split them up, so stay tuned!


	11. Belonging

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ivy contemplates her attachments to Harley while the clown family reunites.

"Paradise we found  
It's the pathway of my life  
No one can see  
Emotions we live by  
Sustenance we vie"  
_We Vie - Titiyo, Stakka Bo_

* * *

  
"Would you be so kind and tell me on which floor Mr. Wayne is? I have an appointment with him. You'd help a lady out, wouldn't you?"

Ivy leaned over the counter, ensnaring the receptionist. His eyes were hopelessly locked onto hers as she leaned closer, letting her breath ghost across his face.

"I'm sorry, Miss, but there's no appointment scheduled for tonight. What was your name again?"

"Pamela Isley." She let the seduction drip off her voice, pheromones surrounding them. "It's very important."

He seemed to shrink in front of her. "With all due respect, Miss Isley, this is a private lounge. Mr. Wayne is not in tonight. I could help you contact Mr. Fox - "

"This cannot wait –" A gust of air touched her skin when someone entered the reception area behind her through the swing door. Ivy turned to glance at the intruder.

A small child in a torn dress stood by the wall, as if she wanted to melt into it.

Ivy scowled and her hand reached threateningly across the counter. "What is a _kid_ doing here? You told me this was for refined clients!"

"I don't know, miss Isley, maybe she accompanied one of our clients –"

"Get her out of here!" Ivy hissed, glaring at him.

"I really want to help, but -"

The kid's eyes followed her every moment, watching them closely. Something about her was oddly familiar.

_It can't be._

No, the thought was absurd. This wasn't one of the clown's clubs, not even his territory - or what would be his turf until the day Ivy took control over the entire city.

"Keep this a secret," she whispered into the receptionist's ear and he could only nod solemnly in reply, as she let her pheromones do the job. "Maybe I'll give you a kiss later." She withdrew, walking over to the kid in the other side of the extravagant reception area.

Normally she hated meat bags and their spawns, but this one had caught her attention. Something inside her always protested against leaving lost or hurt children on their own.

When she looked at this one, she couldn't deny it. The similarity to Harley in that faux innocent-looking little face was striking.

 _Harley_. The thought sent a flicker of something through her, a slight discomfort. She shouldn't let her affect her any longer. Harley had made her choice. Ivy had decided to focus on her own goals and mission in life and put the human emotions aside, but every now and again the memories returned.

The girl stared at her; an intense, silent gaze, not showing any sign of distress. A familiar feeling pulsed through Ivy and she leaned down. "Are you lost? What's your name?"

"I'm Lucy," she mumbled. Her gray eyes had a certain way of staring at Ivy, almost shyly; with such a wide display of innocence it was almost comical. Her hands were balled into fists at her sides and her dress had dark stains. A smile hinted at her small lips.

A door opened close by and some men walked by. Ivy scooted closer to the kid – even if she didn't care about the spawns of meat bags, she'd rather not want this girl to get in the hands of the "fine" gentlemen that frequented this place. _Certainly a fine place you built for yourself, Bruce Wayne._

"Who brought you here?"

"I found the way on my own," she replied, still smiling.

It was strange how she seemed so oddly relaxed, apart from her clenched fists. "Can you help me? I'm looking for my Mommy and Daddy. Some people took me away."

Ivy would rather just get this over with; get to Wayne and finish her business so she could go on with her plans without him being in her way. One step at a time, and the city would flourish in green, taking out all the meat bags. She would spare Harley, though.

"Let's get you out of here, Lucy." Ivy straightened up and led the way towards a different, more discreet exit in the building, giving one poisonous look of warning to the man in the reception.

A small group of formally dressed men and women passed them by. Ivy pulled the child aside and into a corner, sheltered behind big potted plants and seats, to keep her out of sight from the group.

She saw that something was slipping from Lucy's grasp, the reason why she was clinging onto it so tightly. The girl saw her stare and her eyes grew hostile for a moment, but Ivy made no attempt to take the object from her. Ivy finally realized that she was squeezing a piece of glass, and both her palms were bloody.

Then Ivy recognized the ink doodles at her temples and cheeks and it all started making sense. She leaned closer, barely able to contain her bewilderment.

"Jaylie?"

The girl's face lit up in a smile. Ivy felt a cold sensation fill her at the sight.

Jaylie leaned closer, inhaling her scent for a moment, just as enthralled with the pheromones as everyone else. "You're Poison Ivy, right?"

Ivy tried to stay calm as she quickly looked her over for injuries, but realized the blood was someone else's. "You've grown so much since I last saw you! Why are you out here on your own? Where's Harley?"

"I don't know, Aunt Ivy. I wanna go home." There was a whine in her voice now, with a hint of Brooklyn accent.

Ivy stood up. "Let's go." She elegantly approached the exit with Jaylie closely trailing behind her. Her phone was already in her hand, sending a hurried message to her former friend.

"I'm going to call Harley when we get outside. Don't worry."

From behind a voice called out. "Hey, you. Who's that girl? You came in without her."

Ivy turned around in all her grace, snarling quietly, while simultaneously pushing the child behind her back. An expensively dressed, older man stood before her.

The man in the reception stared back and forth between them but did nothing to get the client off her back. So much for charming him… Ivy's voice was hard. "I'm taking this kid home."

"She's not yours, is she? If you take her away I will have to call the police."

 _I know what you really want._ When the client took a step forward, Ivy quickly advanced on him, grabbed a hold of his meaty neck before covering his mouth. The toxins on her hand smeared his lips and he fell to the floor, convulsing. The receptionist reached for a hidden button underneath his desk but Ivy was faster, as she spun around and sealed his mouth with a deadly kiss. "Sorry, but I can't let this get out."

Jaylie seemed completely unfazed by the acts she had witnessed, gazing at Ivy with something similar to admiration as Ivy dragged both the bodies behind the counter. In a way she was much like her mother, only quieter.

The unmistakable sound of gunshots and crushed glass startled them both. Ivy scooped Jaylie up in her arms and headed towards the fire exit. "Let's get out of here right now, honey. Something tells me your clowns are coming."

If Batman decided to show up now, the situation would get very messy.

The girl immediately perked up, the closer the shots came. Ivy felt an instinctive reluctance to bring the eager child into the crossfire where her parents no doubt were, and decided it was better to bring her outside – it was what anyone with _common sense_ would do, and definitely not the parents in question.

Leaning the tired child on her hip, she hurried down the hallway and found the fire escape that would allow her to take Jaylie to the street, where she would be safe both from any eventual Bat encounters and loose bullets. Two costumed men suddenly blocked the way.

Ivy glared at the AK-47 carrying freaks in front of her, holding tighter onto Jaylie.

To her annoyance she noticed more of them entered the room and blocked her path - they must already have infiltrated the building. Another, more alarming sound coming from the floors above her caught her attention - was the Bat here now?

Then, the Joker strolled past them as if he owned the place. He was flanked by the guy Ivy recognized as his bodyguard, and her irritation grew. _That freak can't go anywhere without his personal assistant, can he?_

She stared coldly at the Joker.

He grinned at her, a dangerous, sickly smile. "Now, now, plant, are you taking a liking to my kid? Too bad, I already called the dibs on her."

Jaylie squirmed, turning to Ivy. "Aunt Ivy, please put me down."

"Off you go." Reluctantly Ivy did so, but a part of her wanted to keep the girl from running back to that immature, psychopathic clown. _Him_ as a father? The part of Ivy that remembered her own broken childhood wanted to stop her, but that would mean taking the Joker on and she was outnumbered and in an unfavorable environment. She had better things to do.

The clown had destroyed several of her plant projects as collateral damage over the years, but the payback would come another time.

Jaylie ran towards him, and the moment she reached him he pulled her close with one harsh, quick movement. He lifted her up and her arms wound tightly around his neck, her legs around his waist, clinging to him.

He supported her weight and she beamed at him, with more happiness than Ivy ever had seen in a child. "I'm back, Daddy!"

"That you are, Princess," he said darkly. His hand ran through her matted blond hair, then swept over her cheek with the smudged heart. For a moment they remained just like that, and Ivy wondered what happened to the lunatic in him.

His eyes turned to Ivy a moment later, the same eyes she detested, but something felt different.

"Where's Mommy?" Jaylie impatiently required, looking all around for her beloved Harley.

"She ran off looking for you," he said with a roll of his eyes, as a very upset Harley Quinn pushed her way violently through the henchmen and rushed over.

" _Jay_!" Tears of joy streamed down her cheeks as she more or less smashed her body into the Joker's, who barely managed to keep his balance from her force. A moment later she had her daughter in her arms, cradling her and rocking her intensely as she covered her face with smudgy kisses. "Mommy was so worried for you! Where have you been, baby?"

Ivy hesitated, torn between leaving now or talking to Harley again. The henchmen around them started moving away. If she left now, she wouldn't have to face her former friend. She had almost left the room when Harley called out for her.

"Red… Thank you for takin' care of my Jay. We were going crazy without her." She laughed a little. Jaylie had almost fallen asleep on her shoulder and the Joker was busy issuing orders to Frost, giving them the illusion of privacy.

Harley gave her the same wide, carefree smile she used to, taking a few steps forward and grabbing Ivy's hand. Blinking away the last tears through black-smudged eyes, she said: "You should come by and spend some time!"

Ivy squeezed her hand, then withdrew. "I don't have time for socializing, Harls."

She hated seeing the childish disappointment in the blonde's face, her bottom lip quivering.

"That trick might work on him, but not on me. I have things to do."

"I don't want you to go! And Jay loves you too! We missed you!"

Maybe the pleading _did_ work a little, but she would never let her know that. Once she had vehemently protested all of Harley's life choices, but things were different now. Ivy sighed, then leaned forward, wrapping her arm around Harley's waist, feeling her body heat and being mindful of Jaylie's form clinging to her.

It was not enough, not ever enough. It had been many years since they first met, and that time had passed.

"Just do what makes you smile, Harley."

She turned and left, but she couldn't deny the heaviness in her steps.  
  


**X**  
  


During the ride home, Jaylie was too exhausted to even notice what was happening. When they arrived to the penthouse and Harley took her to the bathroom to wash her off, she still didn't react. Harley brushed her washed hair and tried to engage her interest, but still nothing.

She carried her to her room and changed her into pajamas. "Your hyenas missed you," Harley smiled, glancing at the stuffed animals adorning the bed.

Sharp sobs ripped out of Jaylie's chest as she sat in her bed, arms around her legs, her face stern.

"Baby... Mommy's here. Mommy won't let anybody hurt you ever again." Harley untangled her limbs before pulling her to her chest, wrapping her arms around her body.

She carried her to the master bedroom, sitting down on the large bed with her daughter cradled against her chest, so she could feel her heartbeat. Her crying got louder, more uncontrollable.

"Hush little baby, don't you cry." Harley rocked her back and forth. "Momma's gonna kill for you the whole damn world..."

The sobs seemed to hold up for a moment before they continued. Jaylie leaned her head against her chest, trembling.

The Joker entered the room, not paying them any mind. Harley watched absentmindedly as he put his holster away and carelessly slipped out of his shirt, all the while texting on his phone. Their routine of settling down for the night rarely ever happened, but it brought them all a sense of stability after the last chaotic days.

"And if they don't laugh at our jokes, Momma's gonna stab out their goddamn throats..."

Jaylie's sobs lessened slightly, and her hands grasped Harley's shirt.

Joker sat down on the other side of the bed, only wearing slacks. He eventually finished texting and turned to look at them. There was something churning behind his gaze, something wild and uncontrollable that needed and would find an outlet through blood, but not tonight. Joker always paid his enemies back, tenfold.

Harley leaned closer to him, placed Jaylie between their chests, and kissed him. "If you grow up with his smile, Momma's gonna be so proud of you."

Jaylie hiccuped, finally calming down. Harley wrapped a strand of her hair between her fingers and leaned down to kiss her forehead. "Time for bed, baby."

There was something in the air that couldn't be explained nor articulated. Jaylie mumbled against her chest: "Did you wash the blood away, Mommy? It got all over my dress."

Harley blinked. Something was nudging at the edge of her mind, a familiar feeling of an intruder wanting to rip through, breaking through her mind. She was lying on a cold, white floor with bars in every direction, raising a trembling hand smeared with blood from between her legs. It dripped and it wouldn't stop.

Then, she was lying on a hard surface, seeing the man who was her entire world lifting something out of her. It didn't move and she knew it was because her own body couldn't keep it alive.

She inhaled sharply.

Then, there was something else, and it was breathing in his bloody hands. Something had changed within her that day five years ago, when death became life at the hands of this cold-blooded man.

Joker craned his neck, growling, before tugging on Harley's arm and pulling her down with him into the bed. His constant battle of domination with her voices would never stop. Jaylie lay between their chests, and exhaustion was starting to cloud her mind.

He stared at the ceiling as he addressed his daughter. "You're not gonna leave my sight for a while. I've gone through enough trouble for the both of you loony tunes. I'd have much less trouble if I killed you both."

Harley let her hand run over his scarred bicep, feeling the cold skin slowly heating up. She smiled, already forgetting what she had seen in her mind. "You'd do anything for us, wouldn't you Puddin'?"

He didn't need to reply. The evidence was right there between them. It was a fact they both knew, it had been his decision from the start to let her live.

"I killed a man myself, Daddy," Jaylie sleepily interjected, snuggled up against Harley's chest with her back pressed to the Joker's front.

His silent giggles rocked them both. "I know you did, Pumpkin."

He tightened his arm around Harley, pulling them both closer to him. Surrounded by the feeling of complete safety, Jaylie finally fell asleep.

 

* * *


	12. The Other Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jaylie Quinn's defiant age brings the Joker and Ivy together in an unlikely deal, and revenge is a dish best served... warm.

* * *

"I am the antidote  
I'll suck your venom out  
Show me where it really hurts  
I'll show you where it really hurts"  
_Antidote - St. Vincent_

* * *

 

The figure was there, black gloved hands reaching for her. She twisted and turned, biting, fighting, but couldn't see the steps in front of her, tumbling down into darkness. She couldn't get up again, falling deeper down. Like being stuck in a spider web, she fought and tried to claw her way out. The man in the black suit picked her up and took her to an unfamiliar building.

Heaving for air, she trashed around until she felt a hand on the back of her neck, pressing her to someone. Her breathing grew quicker, nearing a fit and she reached out for her weapon, _anything_ –

"Shh, baby, it's only a nightmare. You're okay."

Jaylie's free hand reached out to grab her hammer, clutching it to her chest. She stroked the handle of the tool, gasping silently. She couldn't remember the dream, only the feeling of being away from them both. They belonged to _her_.

"Ya know, Momma was taken away once too," Harley whispered into her hair. "But we always come back to Daddy. He gets lonely without us."

She smiled a little, already flown away in her dream world. She cradled Jaylie absentmindedly, like she was a baby again. The five-year-old pressed herself closer, clutching her backside. "Don't go."

"I won't, baby."

"Come on you two, get up already," the Joker sing-sang from somewhere in the room, dancing around. "We've got murdering to do. _Finally_."

"We've got a surprise for you," Harley smiled.

Jaylie blinked. The new voice was clear in her head now, waking up alongside her, and she already knew whom it belonged to. It comforted her, calmed her and took the fear away. Like smiling on the inside, a girl with a wide grin, wielding a weapon.

_Let's go play!_

Harley's excitement grew. "Let's get ready, honey!"

She pulled Jaylie upright in her lap and quickly brushed through her hair, putting it up in two miniature ponytails before jumping up and looking through the drawers, finding her a red ballerina tutu and a Minnie Mouse t-shirt to wear. Harley slipped out of her own pajamas and into a crimson-colored jumpsuit for the occasion, matching the shirt of her other half.

Joker was standing in front of the gold-tinted mirror, applying the last tints of dark smudge around his eyelids and finishing with a red grin. Harley took the lipstick from him when he was finished, something he grudgingly allowed, and used it to enhance a bright blush on her cheeks to match her lips.

Jaylie got up from the bed, rummaging around a little until she found an electric drill that was light enough for her to carry. She liked the sound it made - something told her that this time should be loud. "Where are we going?"

"To a very special place," Harley giggled, a dark smile on her lips.

It had only been a day since she returned home, and she didn't let go of Harley's hand as they went down to the very basement of the building they resided in. Frost followed silently behind them into the underground chambers.

Gambol's men were tied up on chairs, positioned in a circle. They were sitting alone in the darkness, until the ceiling lights buzzed faintly and slowly came alive.

Jaylie was the first one to emerge from the dark, grinning brightly. She felt only a strange exhilaration, and the presence inside her enhanced it. Behind her, with a wicked grin on his face, the Joker appeared. His hand rested on her shoulder for a moment, but he let her step up first.

"Well, what do we have here?" he said as the cold fluorescent lights finally lit up the large room and the six mutilated men sitting in the middle. Harley dutifully handed him a chainsaw. This place would give her even more funny memories.

Jaylie stepped forward, looking at the guests in front of her. Sweaty, the man who had thrown her into the car and gagged her and annoyed her the most, was only slightly trembling. She remembered the other guy, Ryan, despite his recent facial carvings – he had been nice, offering her a blanket to sleep on in the windowless room. The third one was easily recognizable, with a bandage on his forearm, glaring at her. She wanted to bite him again.

Harley's chuckles floated out in the room as she twirled her mallet, but Jaylie remained completely concentrated. She felt like she was stepping up on a scene, about to perform a very important task, a _show_ , like Daddy called it.

And she was the star now, the main attraction. Cameras were set up in every corner of the room, about to document the event from the best possible angles.

She looked into Ryan's eyes, and with a sweet smile, put the drill to his forehead.

The chainsaw roared to life behind her and the gray concrete floor changed color completely.

.

. **  
**

"Mommy, are you Aunt Ivy's friend?"

Jaylie sat in the middle of another circle, consisting of bullets and remains of a crushed cell phone arranged together, with individual components sorted according to color and size. She had been working tirelessly on her task in the living room ever since she woke up.

Harley looked up from her nail polish. "Yeah, I am!"

"Then why won't she come over?"

"I don't know, Pumpkin Pie. She's busy with her boring plants." Harley pouted and leaned back in the couch, turning over her bottle of polish without noticing. A sticky golden color dripped down the coffee table.

Jaylie focused on the last pieces to complete her collection, using her hammer to flatten a small hard drive that had belonged to a henchman's phone. She picked up the metal pieces and arranged them in a mechanical pattern.

"Tell her to come see me."

"Sure, honey."

The Joker waltzed through the door, phone in hand. "Jaylie, bring Daddy his rifle. Harls, get me my spare ammunition."

"Comin' right up, Puddin'."

Jaylie didn't react, calmly continuing to arrange her pieces. The Joker stopped in front of her, his shoe threatening to ruin her collection. She still paid him no mind.

"Have ya gone deaf?" He grimaced.

She looked calmly up at him. "No, Daddy."

"Then bring it here," he said in a tone of voice that made Harley move to get it herself.

"Jaylie's not here now," the girl proclaimed as she continued working. "I'm Lucy."

Harley's eyes widened, popping her bubble gum loudly. The Joker stopped in his movements.

A moment ticked by in silence. Johnny Frost who had just entered the living room with a couple of buckets stopped in the door. Cleaning up after last night's chainsaw and drilling adventures had taken the henchmen all day; the blood still wouldn't wash from the walls, and fragments of bone had ended up in the pipes.

"Harley?" The Joker's tone was strangely pitched, but she was too caught up staring at her daughter to notice. "I don't _recall_ having more than one kid."

"No, Mistah J."

He looked between Harley and the girl, as the pieces fell into place. A grin spread across his face, and his laughter broke the silence. "Taking after your old mom, I see."

"Lucy, that is cute!" Harley gushed. "My voices have such _weird_ names!"

Jaylie's eyes narrowed. "She's not a voice! She's real!"

Joker walked over to her, deliberately stepping on her pedantic circle of items, scattering them.

"Then where is she?" He gestured dramatically. "I _told_ you to bring me something."

She glared at him while her lips drew back over her small teeth. Last time a henchman accidentally ruined her composition of items she had stabbed a screw driver into the offender's ankle.

The Joker mirrored her grimace, in a more imposing way. "I don't _appreciate_ this frown, Pumpkin."

He stared her down and she stared back, refusing to lower her gaze.

"Jay-Jay, let's go make some jelly," Harley interrupted, keeping her voice cheery in an attempt to ease the tension.

Grasping her hammer tightly, Jaylie stomped out of the room.

Frost proceeded to look for more cleaning materiel, sighing inwardly when he saw the nail polish that had spread across the carpet. He made sure to stay out of the way of his irritated Boss who kept assembling his stuff.

A part of him wondered when – if – the Boss would snap. As with everything else, Harley Quinn didn't seem too worried. He couldn't help but wonder what Quinn would do if Boss ever got physical in his annoyance with the girl. It hadn't happened so far, so clearly, he figured as he retrieved another bottle of bleach, she had some of the immunity her mother had. No one else bared their teeth to the Joker and survived - except Quinn, of course.

.

When they were alone, Harley leaned against her partner. "She's just as stubborn as you, Puddin'."

He turned to her, cupping her jaw tightly in his hand. "She got it from you… _Harleen_. I haven't got a crowd in there."

"Really?" She stared back at him, a teasing smile on her lips. "That's not what I see in bed, Mistah J. Last week you were my psychiatrist, remember?"

He growled, leaning in to capture her bottom lip between his teeth. She giggled in return, as her hands snaked around his shoulders. "And when you dressed up like a policeman, I thought ya were going to arrest me for real..."

She leaned in to whisper in his ear: "How about I give you a hypnosis session? Leave it all up to me …"

He grinned. She had distracted him from his task, but he forgave her this time. "Alright, _Doctor_ …"

His hands traveled down to her hips and tightened their grip, pressing her pelvis firmly into his. "Good girl." He flashed a crooked grin, and her smile grew wider.

"Wanna handcuff me again, Daddy?"

"Oh, I will." He dipped his head to sweep his mouth over her neck, grazing his lips over her skin. His hands captured her wrists as he walked her into the opposite wall.

"I told ya," she breathed, "Multiple personalities."

"Aren't ya smart, Doctor?" He laughed against her skin, nipping at her throat.

"Boss?" Frost's wary voice came from the door.

"Can't you see I'm _bu-sy_?" he asked in his most unpredictable voice. Harley was nibbling at his earlobe, making his concentration waver as he reached for his holster. Just a warning shot close to the face would be enough to make his point. But Jonny Frost was a smart man.

"Miss Quinn is out on the top balcony and refuses to go inside."

He rolled his eyes, pulling away from Harley with a huff. "Then _bring_ her inside."

Jonny Frost went back, very unsure about what the Joker had meant. He crouched down, a few feet behind the girl – this strategy always worked when Boss was in a fugitive mood.

The view of Gotham laid in front of them, and ten stores down below was the street. Jaylie sat on the balcony floor, hammer in her hand, intensely working with pulling apart a white gold Rolex.

"Hey, kid."

No reply.

"You're not supposed to be out here, you need to go inside."

As usual she acted like he wasn't even there.

"Lucy, if the Bat sees you..."

It was a very risky chance, he had no idea how she would react to the new name.

To his surprise, she turned around, and smiled. "Me and Lucy likes you, Frosty."

Worst case scenario avoided – she hadn't thrown a fit, or used violence that he would be unable to defend himself from lest he hurt her. Pushing his luck, he asked: "Where's Jaylie right now?"

"In me." She replied as if it was the most natural thing in the world. "She _is_ me."

Frost had seen Harley Quinn shift between several personas in the past, and let his facial expression remain carefully neutral.

She walked over to the balcony railing and leaned over.

"Hey!" Instinctively Frost got up, reaching out to grab her arm but changed his mind in the last moment. He watched as Jaylie studied the street below curiously.

A part of him was alarmed; wishing intensely someone would come and take the responsibility of this kid away from him. No amount of years spent dealing with irritable gangsters and mafia bosses, including his Boss, had prepared him for this.

He sighed and leaned against the low railing as well, playing it cool as he kept a close watch on her. "Nice view, huh?"

She pouted and pushed away from it. "It's boring. Where's the roof?"

Seeing his facial expression, she giggled slyly.

"And what do you think you're doing, Pumpkin?"

The Joker's voice was dangerously smooth, as he stepped out on the balcony. Frost saw his chance to get away, not wanting to get caught in their way.

The Joker crouched down and flicked his fingers hard against her forehead. "You're on a time out. _You_ stay where I can see you."

"I wanna go to the club. Please, Daddy…" She leaned in with her best pouting face, ignoring the aching spot in her forehead.

He cackled, unaffected by her attempt to charm him. "You just got yourself snatched away like some little Robin, just like that… no." He grimaced. "I'm not letting you out."

"Robin," she giggled, instantly catching on. "Poor little Robin…"

He set his jaw tight as he leaned closer, staring her down. "I'm not playing that game again, Pumpkin. That little birdy got himself eaten by the big cats because he was stupid."

"I'm not like stupid Robin!"

He looked at the fading bruises on her arms, the marks left by the people who had taken her away. His voice shifted. "What have I told you about the Bat?"

"He's _bad_. He took Mommy away and he ruined your smile."

"That's right. He's a funny guy, but you can't play with him yet." He gripped her small wrist. "What's to say you won't get snatched up again by the next person I cross? Watcha gonna do next time, if you're not so lucky, hmm?"

She made a low, feral sound in her throat, like the hyenas she had seen on TV. "I'm gonna bite their heads off."

He cackled. "Taking after Daddy, I see." He made a disapproving face at her favorite weapon. "That is too dull. It takes _forever_ to crack a skull open." He rolled his eyes and let go of her wrist. He took his razor out of his pocket, a foldable one with a purple handle, engraved with a golden jester skull.

"This pretty fellow," he said, "does it smoothly."

"I wanna try!"

"At-at-ta," he held it out of her reach. "This is _mine_. I'll get you one when you can handle a knife."

"We can!" She frowned, impatience betraying her.

"We?" He reached out a hand and cupped her face, stroking her cheek. "Oh, Lucy too..."

She flashed him a wide smile. "Pretty, pretty, please?"

"Ya know," he said as he rose to his feet, swinging back and forth on his heels for a moment. "There's no doubt that you're my kid." He snapped his razor blade shut. "And that's lucky for you."

.

.

During the next months Jaylie started training, determined to be let outside again. Harley trained her in gymnastics to keep her occupied, while the Joker let her start practicing knife-throwing. The nightmares returned every so often, and only eased when she slept in their bed, but they never fully ceased. Sometimes they would find her clutching her hammer, breathless and ready to strike.

In the big room they had made their gym, Harley taught her basic acrobatics, helping her to use the silk strings to swing back and forth, somersault in the air, and cartwheel across the floor with one or two hands. Jaylie wasn't truly interested but it kept her motivated. Sometimes the Joker watched when they trained, or trained bodybuilding next to them.

Jaylie would stop to look too, seeing her mother like an angel of white bleached hair, moving like a spider, or butterfly in the air. Completely soundless, ever so graceful, only a silk strand keeping her attached to the ceiling, leaning back and softly extending her arms in the air like she was taking a reverse bow. She was muscled velvet, a gracious feather compared to the Joker.

Jaylie had tried to mirror her movements only to fall back on her bottom, hard. She felt clumsy and unsure whenever her feet weren't touching the ground.

By the time of her sixth birthday, she only managed to climb the silk drape halfway before her aching arms gave up. The small knives were easier to handle, but she couldn't hit anything from a distance. She much preferred walking up to the target in question and stab it.

The gym became her favorite place to have her parents all to herself, to watch them watch each other, encircled in a private dance. When the Joker wasn't there, Harley would still show her gracious things.

During one of those sessions, a henchman abruptly knocked on the door and entered.

"Miss Quinn, someone's here to see you. Says it's urgent."

Harley looked at him upside down, before doing a spin in the air and landing gracefully on her feet. Jaylie had grown tired of the day's exercises and sat among discarded drapes.

Harley let out an excited squeal as the intruder pushed right past the henchman. "Red!"

Poison Ivy flipped her thick hair over her shoulder as she came to meet them. "What's the deal with the possessive clown? He still doesn't like me seeing you, does he?"

"He's just jealous. Where have ya been?" Harley threw her arms around her happily, embracing her. "We missed you! Why'd you ignore my calls? You could stay for a bit, ya know!"

"I've been... tending to stuff. Listen, Harley, I'm not here for a visit. I'm going strike Gotham soon. I'm finally going to put this city back into its natural state." Her eyes sparkled. "The water supply will be poisoned with spores, you're immune but she isn't –" she nodded to Jaylie who sat silently and watched them – "So I'm here to warn you. Move to a safer place and you won't be affected."

"Move?" Harley looked dumbfound at her, taking a step back.

She nodded. "It will probably affect the air as well. Just get out of Gotham for a while and it'll be fine."

Harley's voice rose. "This is _my_ home, the only one I've ever had. Puddin' and I are _not_ movin'."

"I don't want you or her to get hurt. Take her away from the city for a few months –"

Harley stared at her, chest heaving, voice strangely pitched. "We're _not_ moving. We _own_ this city, Red."

"What about your daughter?"

"What about her?" Harley bit back. "She's not going anywhere, and she is _not_ gonna get hurt!"

"Look, Harley, you want the Bat to disappear so you can get _him_ all for yourself, right?"

"Yes!"

"Then let me do this, since _he_ 's not competent enough to do it!"

"Don't talk that way about Mistah J! You wouldn't _dare_ , Red!"

"Then leave. This is not even a home, this is a hide-out for a criminal enterprise."

"Yeah, so what? We _live here_!"

Ivy turned to leave, only to come face to face with the clown prince himself. He looked just as annoyed as he had when she had demanded entrance to his headquarters earlier, now blocking her exit.

"Where you goin', plant?"

Ivy didn't flinch. "You owe me, clown. Without me, your daughter would be with the Bat now, wearing a masquerade suit."

" _Harls_ ," he growled. "Ya don't mind if we end this little conversation for good now, do ya?"

Harley looked numbly between the two of them, as Jaylie ran over and stood between the Joker and Ivy. She surprised Ivy by grabbing her hands.

"Aunt Ivy," she said, looking at her with wide eyes, "Make me immune."

Surprised that she had understood the situation, the red-haired woman stared at her. The girl smiled. "Me and Lucy want your poison."

Ivy looked at Harley, who suddenly grinned. "That's a great idea, Puddin' Pop!"

"You … and _Lucy_?"

"Mm-hmm!" Jaylie nodded affirmatively. _Was she always this happy?_ There was no resemblance of the silent, bloodied kid Ivy had picked up at Wayne Enterprises.

Joker stared aggressively at Ivy, yanking Jaylie away from her. "No."

"But Puddin' –"

He turned to Harley. "Don't you _Puddin'_ me. That plant isn't going anywhere near my kid."

"Please, Daddy," Jaylie whined impatiently, jumping slightly up and down. He glared at her.

She turned back to Ivy. "If you give me a kiss, you can poison the water supply!"

Harley giggled, completely in on the idea. "Yeah!"

Ivy sighed. "If I kiss you, you will get a seizure and die from lack of oxygen. But as you wish, I'll give you some poison." She turned to the Joker. "If _you_ promise not to interfere with my operation."

Harley caught her partner's stare. "Jaylie wants to do this, Puddin'. It's just for a few weeks, right? Not _everyone_ will die."

He groaned, admitting defeat as Harley clearly was not going to back down. "If she dies convulsing on the floor, don't say I didn't warn ya."

Jaylie embraced Ivy with a giggle, but the woman stiffened at the contact. "Lucy's happy too."

"Who's Lucy?" Ivy patted her head awkwardly, seeing the green hue of her blonde hair in the sharp lighting.

The girl smiled up at her, showing all her teeth. "The other me."

"Double the trouble, I see," Ivy concluded, trying not to think too hard about it.

A henchman was sent to get a sterilized syringe, and after filling it up, Ivy placed Jaylie on a chair and pulled up her sleeve. She was hardly able to sit still.

"Are you a doctor?" Jaylie asked, making no indication of discomfort as the needle pierced her skin.

"Sort of."

"Are you gonna kill Batsy?"

"No. I'm just gonna let him live in misery when Gotham is a flourishing greenhouse."

The girl clapped her hands at this declaration. "Sounds funny!"

"Good luck, plant," Joker drawled. "Send a postcard from Arkham."

Ivy ignored him as Harley tended to Jaylie's arm, putting on a patch. She impatiently bounced up again, into Ivy.

"Are we immune now?"

"Not yet. You will feel feverish for a few days, like an allergic reaction." She rose to her feet. "I'm going."

The Joker grimaced tauntingly, standing in front of her. "Watch out for the _pesticides_."

" _Don't_. Interfere," she said, pushing past him. "We have a deal, clown."

His cackles echoed behind her. "I don't make _deals_."

"Then you have a debt to pay."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been working a lot on this, and I'm so happy to finally be able to present the Lucy part of Jaylie to you. Thank you all for your support, I love to read about your thoughts. As usual, drop me a comment and lemme know what you think!

**Author's Note:**

> I would very much appreciate feedback on this. Let me know what you think!  
> Love,  
> Crystallinee


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